Wanderlust Book 1: A Journey of 1,000 Miles
by Gentleman Crow
Summary: Book 1: One redheaded, fiery spirited Troll Shaman, one philandering one-eyed Troll Rogue, one disgruntled Tauren Hunter, one goodhearted Orc Shaman, the worst Goblin in all of Azeroth, and one big world to wreak havoc upon.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello, and welcome to "Wanderlust" the tale of a young troll and his adventures in the big wide world of Azeroth. It should be known that this fic will embrace the more wholesome, family-friendly aspects of a world at war, including but not limited to: Hot, sweaty naked male Trolls and Orcs, said big, muscular male Trolls, Orcs and other venerable races of the Horde such as the delicate and graceful Sin'dorei getting their 'Freak on", gratuitous acts of violence, mercenaries, male self-service, stealing, lying, cheating, drunken bar fights, and perhaps the kicking of a very cute and vulnerable puppy. With that in mind, please, curl up with a hot cup of chamomile, a blanket, and a loved one and enjoy, "Wanderlust." And remember, "For the Horde!"

Wanderlust

Episode 1: "A Journey of a Thousand Miles…"

Chapter 1

Smoke meant many things to his people; an omen, a signal, a vision, or even a dream, but the thick black smoke that rose ominously into the sky before him was unmistakable as the dark harbinger of death. It loomed heavily in the air above the charred pit rimmed with the skeletons of the Troll huts that had once been a small and peaceful village. The din of screams from the dying and tortured spirits lingered there and coiled inside the acrid scent of the blaze which seared into his all of his senses. It spoke clearly to him with the anguish of the genocide that had taken place not hours before he had arrived. The echoes of it still rung in the ears of the old Tauren bull perched heavily astride his restless Kodo mount, even in silence of the wake of destruction, and Inali Ebonfeather closed his eyes and raised a hand reverently with a prayer to the Earthmother to watch over the departed souls. He was too late.

The judicious and grayed shaman had woken several moons earlier to a bloody prophetic dream which had beckoned him to the shores of Durotar where the Darkspear tribe made their homes close to their new Orc brothers. He had set out immediately to the desert the day of the vision but he never imagined that it would be the lives of an entire village in his hands, or that he would arrive too late to do anything to prevent the deaths of so many innocents. He could not help but feel despite that fact, that perhaps his purpose lay not in warning the trolls of the destruction but in some other destiny, so against the thick sorrow in the air, he took up his reins and urged the Kodo forward. Having none of it the stubborn beast bellowed lowly in protest and slunk backward, great head tossing with an irritated snort.

"Peace old friend," the bull soothed in a calming voice, "I am certain they have all gone. They would not stay to patrol such a small village, this was done out of hatred and nothing more, so let us move forward and do what we can to help if anyone has survived…"

The wizened beast of burden heeded the gentle sound of his master's voice and finally carefully lumbered down the hill toward the wreckage with a keening moan.

Inali watched their surroundings carefully as they made their way down and past the cultivated edge of the village, well aware that Alliance forces lingering were still a likely possibility. He took his feathered staff fiercely in his gnarled hands that had seen a lifetime of war and strife from the holster against his back, tattered bovine ears pricked high, and hooves tight in the stirrups of his saddle while his still keen eyes roved the ruins. The shaman guided the Kodo down what had once been the main path through the center of town where the huts and stands still smoked and smoldered and saw nothing. For a brief moment, his heart eased in relief for the denizens to have escaped before the razing. He smiled to himself, and questioned the spirits for sending him a dream of the tragedy, but was brought to a cruel halt when he arrived unwittingly to the center of the village and saw just how wrong he was, his jaw dropping in mute horror.

Bodies of slaughtered, unarmed, provincial Darkspear Trolls littered the blood-stained, burnt, and blighted ground where they had all rallied in defense of their home. They lay in their final, violent repose with vacant eyes glazed monochrome in death as they stared soullessly into the blackened sky. Nothing and no one had been spared. Men still clutching spears and axes sprawled beside their mates, mates who still clung to young whelps murdered as if they were full grown. Limp, three-fingered hands reached in futile for disembodied heads severed with ruthless precision by Alliance troops who were well seasoned in coping with the regenerative abilities of the Troll race. Broken tusks were scattered from the crushed skulls of their owners and shone as the only sad flecks of white against charred earth in the heat of the Durotar sun.

Inali gripped his chest as he gazed upon the chilled calm left in the wake of savagery, and his mount would move no longer, the kodo lowing and reeling backward from the battlefield. He abided the beast's nervous request and eased himself down to the ground from the saddle, his staff still brandished warily in hands that shook with fury. Heavy hooves forced themselves to move, and his tail swished alertly behind him as the Tauren moved with caution into the village against the protests of his churning stomach. He had not seen battle or death in many years and had thought himself retired to his divining and potion making for good. Following his dream had unwittingly brought him back to the grisly aftermath of war once more.

The shaman picked his way with reverence through the remains of village and Troll alike and stopped only occasionally to slip a finger beneath an intact chin to find no pulse still within the chests of any. He called out as he searched, but only the wind answered him as it whistled mournfully through the burnt bamboo huts carrying smoke with it and tossed matted, wiry, once vibrantly colored hair. Slowly he traversed the length of the village with no signs of life calling to him whatsoever. At every turn he was met with nothing but corpses frozen in the moment of death with naught he could do at his age and alone to offer them even a respectful burial. The occasional slumped form of a dead human in Theramore regalia gave him a small measure of pride that the Trolls had at least fought valiantly for their lives, but it was clear who had suffered the greater price.

Inali whispered gentle prayers as he went, stooping to arrange bodies with the care and respect of a war healer, and gradually let his guard begin to lower. He even went so far to strap his staff back into its leather holster to free his hands to work, but just when he thought he was perfectly safe to conduct his business with the dead, however, a cracking of wood and a flash of red caught his sharp attention and he stood to his full height, staff instantly back in his hands.

From the direction of the disturbance all the bull could see was a single hut that had mostly escaped the flames of the razing. The thatched roof had burned and collapsed inward, but the basic structure still remained standing and supporting the body of a young red-haired male. Impaled and hung with a score of arrows through his slender body and his own spear thrust brutally through his heart, he was pinned like a specimen against the wall of his own home. Beneath him, his milky green eyes stared downward at the shredded corpse of his mate; a once powerful woman with a blaze of deep violet hair and daggers still clenched in her hands.

Inali's stomach wrenched for the brutality shown to the duo and shook his heavy, horned head with scorn for a corpse to be left in such a state. He made his way to the slain warrior's side, yet another prayer on his lips, and gripped the spear firmly to gently ease it out of his body. No blood flowed from the already ensanguined form and yet it slumped easily into his arms cold with death but not yet stiff. He laid the nameless Troll down on the ground beside his mate with the utmost respect and crossed his arms over his chest, giving him his final rites as he gently closed his staring eyes.

The Tauren moved to grace the woman with the same ritual, but the sound that had first called him to the hut sounded once again behind him and he whirled around to face it. Instead of warriors, instead of armed humans returning to scout the area, instead of wild animals smelling dead meat coming to feed as he had expected, the source of the sound came from a tiny enclave hidden within the black roof beams and charred thatch where a tiny form lay. Shrouded in darkness and covered in soot, it was difficult at first for Inali to see what it was, but as he inched closer a pang of shock and horror pierced his gentle heart to see a small, three-fingered hand clutching at the dirt. The young Troll whelp trembled violently where he curled on his side in the rubble of his home still alive, his eyes squeezed shut, gashes through his tender teal flesh still bleeding and fresh.

"Child… Can you hear me?" Inali called to him as he crouched low to the ground and reached a hand out.

The boy emitted a terrified squeaking sound and curled into a tighter ball with his hands protectively over his head. The Tauren's gut wrenched and he inched carefully closer to begin clearing away the debris beneath which the child hid.

"Do not be afraid little one," he assured him, making sure to speak this time in his own tongue, "I am here to help you."

Upon hearing the comforting language of the Trolls as well as the remains of the roof shifting away above him, the wounded whelp's tiny ears pricked up, and he dared to open a single, timid emerald green eye. He had seen a few Tauren in his life and instantly knew him as a friend and savior, reaching weakly out for the bull with a shaking hand.

"H-Help…" he managed to croak.

"Don't worry, I've got you," Inali quickly assured the boy and shoved the last of the brittle beams to the side.

They toppled like mere twigs and he winced at the state of the ghastly body revealed which bore the unmistakable lesions of being trampled by hooves as well as the bite of blades. He hurriedly removed his cloak to drape over him protectively and cover the wounds to heal them. It was a miracle and testament to the tenacity of his race that the boy had survived at all. The Tauren's hands glowed a gentle green with healing waves as he gingerly swaddled the limp little creature and lifted him into his arms, careful to keep his back to the ravaged corpses that were once his parents. The tiny, wiry Troll issued a mute squeak of pain and opened the only eye he could, the other swollen shut and crusted in dried blood.

The glazed green iris wavered slightly in recognition as it met with the earthen brown orbs, and Inali gazed with awe at the only survivor of the slaughter. A young Troll indeed, hardly out of his fifth year by the look of his gangly, disproportioned body and unkempt red hair. His nose was still short, no hint of tusks showing anywhere at the corners of his mouth, and his ears still soft and tender in a shallow sweep away from his head.

The Tauren smiled gently at him and thumbed the sticky, clotted blood away from his face. He had been left an orphan, completely alone without even a village to adopt him, but Inali knew then what his dream meant at last and he heeded the call of fate as he carried the child back to his Kodo.

"What is your name?" he asked gently.

The Troll looked deeply confused for a moment, almost betrayed, before he closed his eye again and butted his face into the broad, warm chest.

"Enoki…" he whispered at length.

"Enoki…" Inali repeated, "A fitting name, my name is Inali, and I promise I will take care of you."

"Inali…" the boy murmured in an echo, "T'ank you…"

The old shaman simply nodded as he clambered atop the great beast with his precious cargo clutched tenderly in one arm. He situated them both comfortably in the saddle and felt the tiny body go lax as Enoki let the darkness take him over at last. Letting him slump easily against him, he spurred the Kodo onward and the creature lumbered easily away back the way they had came, back home, back to Mulgore. Inali prayed again as they rode away, nothing left to do for the village except to take their surviving youngling and take care of him, raise him as the child he had never been graced with. Enoki would live, he promised himself firmly, and he would know happiness. As they rode away however, neither had noticed that in the ground where Enoki had fallen, in the rich soil saturated in his blood, a tiny green sprout had pushed hopefully toward the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **And welcome to chapter 2! A long ass time in coming yesyes… But the story begins to pick up now and hopefully I will have the discipline to upload at a regular basis! But… Probably not : D Enjoy!

**Chapter 2**

10 years later…

When morning broke over the craggy skyline of Kalimdor, the sky was crystal clear and a heavenly blue over the rolling fields of Mulgore and Thunder Bluff a powerful silhouette in the distance from the small village of Aykwani. A tightly knit Tauren settlement, it was founded and then populated by families and elders no longer interested in battle or military service and those wanting to retire to a peaceful life in the grasslands their people so adored. Nothing more than a small market, a water well, a single windmill and places of worship stood among the austere, painted huts of the peaceful people. A people whose daily lives were consumed with their farms and families and who cared little for the strife and war that scarred Azeroth's history. The morning that found it was like any other; families and friends greeted each other with warmth as they rose for their daily chores, farmers came lumbering in with overflowing carts and bushels to set up shop, and the usual bellowing cry of one of the more infamous locals rang loud and clear across the square to signal the true start of the day.

"ENOKI!"

A collective gasp rose from the vendors and artisans, and the sea of Tauren parted obligingly to make way for the legendary ghostly tan blur as it sped through the dead center of town panting excitedly. Huffing and trailing after the speeding ghost wolf, as always, was Inali, staff in hand and a sour look on his face as he chased after his adoptive grandson and excused himself repeatedly to the people he had to bump his way through.

"ENOKI! Oh pardon- I- Oh sorry! Earthmother! Bless this weary heart of mine, I am getting far too old for this…" he wheezed as he trotted after the Troll, bemoaning the day he had ever showed him the spell, "Enoki slow down! Wait for me!"

Enoki, sadly, was always far from earshot even by lupine senses by the time Inali ever managed to catch up to him, a wolfish grin on his muzzle as he ran through the waving plains. He had grown fast and strong as any respectable Troll in the care of the old bull, and at fifteen years old he was faster, stronger, and more agile than most of the Tauren in his village could ever hope to be. He also had a uniquely fierce, visceral connection to the elements of the world which Inali had not ignored, though he wished his pupil in Shamanism would take his studies a bit more seriously. Enoki seemed content to call upon the form of the sacred wolf and gallivant around the village and surrounding fields delighting his friends rather than focus on meditating and communicating with the earth. Though despite that he still always trailed doggedly behind as they made their way each morning to the tree beside the river where they would conduct their training. There was as much hope in his heart as there was potentiality in the young Shaman in training, and as much frustration in the elder as spunk in the wily creature.

Enoki ran as fast as his legs could carry him in his own private race, tongue lolling out of his mouth and tail perked high in delight. He leapt over the old fallen tree that always lay in his path effortlessly, darted his way around a few lazy, wind weathered rocks in a nimble zigzag and howled victoriously to the sky as he finally spotted the single ancient and gnarled tree under which he had spent countless hours with his Grandfather. He lowered his head, brilliant green eyes blazing, and charged. The wind whistled through his fur, blades of grass slapped and snapped as he plowed through them, but he was swift as the wind and flew with grace and precision. He took a final dramatic leap and landed neatly at his goal, tail wagging, and paws perched on the crumbling bark of the tree. Enoki looked behind him with ears pricked up to see if his Grandfather was even close and grinned when he could see no sign of the old Tauren. With a soft white glow and a misting of smoke he shed the wolf form and rose to his natural state again to wait.

He had grown into a tall, powerfully built young Troll with a broad shouldered, slender and imposing physique and a handsomely angular face. In accordance with his tribal traditions, when he had come of age he had tattooed an austere and attractive series of brilliant golden yellow and white markings on his face as well. He had let his fiery red hair grow wild in a blaze behind his head, save for the bottom section at the nape of his neck where he had tied off a long rat tail ponytail that reached his waist in a leather strap with several brightly colored feathers. His tusks had become long and proud and bright red hair had just begun to grow along his jaw line to usher him fully into adulthood. The creature of brutal grace and cheerful nonchalance watched like a predator for his prey but only the wind flattened the blades of grass over his path.

It usually never took Inali so long to catch him, so worriedly Enoki climbed into the tree to crouch and search further from an aerial vantage. His long pristine ears decorated in many simple silver rings stood erect to listen and much to his relief the distinctive thudding of Inali's hooves in the grass soon drew closer. The old bull gasped for breath as he jogged wearily to their usual spot and once beneath the kind boughs of the tree he stopped at last. He doubled over, hands on his knees, and panting as Enoki cheered in delight and flipped backward from the branch.

He hooked his legs deftly around the limb to slow and ease his fall and turned a flip midair to land crouched delicately on all fours.

"Hah! I beatcha again Grandda!" he chorused in his still accented Orcish as he leapt to his feet and loped to Inali's side with a grin.

Inali managed a smile and shook his head in dismay as he raised a hand to cover a cough.

"You… Always win young one… You have an unfair advantage," he choked amicably even as he sat heavily and fell into a coughing fit.

Enoki frowned, he had been coughing more and more lately, and laid a hand on his grandfather's shoulder as he knelt beside him.

"Grandda? Yah alright…? M'sorreh, I didn' mean…" the Troll stuttered awkwardly.

Inali shook his head and raised a hand to wait for the coughing to subside.

"No…" he began at length, "Do not be sorry, it is merely age catching up with me. Make no excuses for the energy of youth, I may be old but I still remember what it is."

Enoki grinned brightly and Inali flopped a hand affectionately atop his head to reassure him he was forgiven. He ruffled the thick red hair with a doting smile, but smoothed it back again with the tenderness of a parent and urged his grandson and pupil to take his usual spot in front of him.

"Come, it is time to focus and begin our training for today. I have many things I want to discuss with you, something… Of great importance."

Enoki quickly obeyed and sat cross legged across from him with bright emerald eyes alert and attentive. As always, Inali closed his eyes and waited a moment in silence before he began his lesson. He listened to the wind in the tree, felt the solid earth beneath him, the cool bubbling of the stream beside them, and let the gentle heat of the fiery sun seep into his old bones. Only once he had given himself, body and mind, to the elements did he speak again.

"Enoki…" he began, never opening his eyes, "Do you know why I chose this place for our training?"

Enoki, having lost the aforementioned concentration moments after Inali had closed his eyes and been distracted by a brightly colored dragonfly skipping and hovering over the glassy stream, looked up with a lost glaze over his emerald eyes and a guilty twist of his mouth.

"Huh?"

Inali grunted with displeasure and resisted the urge to break his concentration to rap his grandson over the head with his staff.

"Enoki… You have to focus child. If you do not focus, cultivate your connection to the elements, you will amount to nothing more than a street magician setting fire to hoops for your trained cats," he said evenly.

Enoki gasped in delight.

"Yeh can train cats?" he asked eagerly, "Like tah do what kinda tricks? Like- Ow!"

The young Troll was cut off by a yelp of pain as the feathered staff finally rapped neatly over his head. He pinned his long ears back to his skull and grumbled something decidedly foul in Zandali under his breath as the Tauren drew in a shuddering breath, a stern crease in his weathered forehead as he continued.

"I know what that means young man! And this is precisely what I am talking about… Enoki. You have shown such great natural aptitude for the elements, you command them with confidence and they heed your call without question, but you lack discipline. Without a peaceful spirit you cannot hope to control the wildness of nature," he said quietly.

Enoki listened at last but his ears pricked up indignantly and his long, beak-like nose wrinkled.

"I got discipline!" he protested, "I doin' fine see?"

He raised an open palmed hand and let an abrupt bright plume of fire erupt from it with a rakish grin and closed his fingers viciously with a flurry of sparks to extinguish it. Inali sat unmoving and shook his head heavily. He could feel the heat and hear the crackling blaze; there was no need to see it to know of Enoki's showy boasting.

"There is so much more to Shamanism than lighting fires and turning into a wolf Enoki…" he said mournfully, "I… Will not be here forever, and before I leave the mortal plane to rejoin my ancestors I want to be able to teach you that…"

The Troll's ears plummeted, his expression softened gravely and his emerald green eyes widened. He could not bear to think of life without his Grandfather, without the man who had saved his life and raised him as his own without any thanks or request.

"N-Naw… Grandda yeh gonna be around a good while, don' be sayin' stuff like dat. I listen," the red-head said softly as he inched closer to him in worry of reminders of mortality.

Inali smiled victoriously to himself and finally opened his eyes.

"You align yourself too heavily with fire my boy," he sagely drawled, "You must find balance… The swift tranquility of the Water, the fierce solidarity of the Earth, the invisible capriciousness of the Wind, and the raging power of the Fire… Without all four in your soul you cannot hope to learn true peace and you will not be a true Shaman."

Enoki listened, his ears pinned back to his head and his heavy brow furrowed.

"But yeh taught me all dat," he added in frustration, "Grandda I dunno whatcha tryin' tah tell me."

Inali chuckled and sat up as best his creaky bones would permit to reach to his belt and draw out a small ceremonial dagger with beads and feathers dangling from the hilt.

"Because you are not listening," he told him firmly and cupped a hand around the gleaming sharp blade.

Before Enoki could even protest Inali had wrapped his fingers tightly around cold steel and jerked the blade across his palm. The Troll covered his mouth in helpless confused horror while the bull opened his bleeding hand and displayed it to him with calm instruction. Silently and majestically the old Tauren held out his other hand and his youthful pupil watched in amazement as it sprang to life with glimmering green light. He brought his palms together in a serene, slow movement and just as quickly as he had made the wound it sealed as he performed the simple healing spell. He looked up at Enoki when he was done and a heavy pang of disappointment sunk through him at the look of mute bewilderment and shock on his angular face. He had been tragically correct about his still feral ward.

"You have even forgotten that Shamans are healers…" Inali whispered, "You have forgotten that it was my magic that saved your life when you were but a child… And you are not a child any longer Enoki. You are fifteen, nearly an adult in the Darkspear tribe. I regret that I cannot perform the Troll rites of manhood for you, but we here in Aykwani consider you as such regardless, and it is about time you started to act it."

Enoki shrunk back as he listened to the always aggravatingly calm scolding from his grandfather, embarrassed and riddled with guilt. It was often easy to forget for him. He had never needed his healing and turning into a wolf and playing with fire were far more entertaining.

"I…" the red-head began weakly, hanging his head, "M'sorreh Grandda…"

That was all Inali needed to hear and he nodded approvingly in silence before resuming his stance of meditation. Enoki quickly followed suit and crossed his legs, feet on either interior of his thighs and his fingers pinched loosely together atop his knees.

With the energetic Troll tempered and focused they were finally able to complete a full meditation and prayer and begin the healing lesson in the peace of the four elements drawn so closely together. Enoki endured the quiet listening and praying to summon the healing powers of nature and followed Inali's instructions exactly to the word but to no avail. As he tried again and again and each time failed he felt his already fragile patience wearing thin. The day trailed on, however, and despite his own regenerative abilities, as the sun was setting low in the west and bathing the grasslands of Mulgore in crystal golden light he was finally able to seal the last bit of a shallow cut into his own hand. He showed it with pride to his grandfather who smiled warmly and finally nodded in approval.

"Good, good Enoki, now you are listening to me, remember this day and you will grow to be-" he began, but trailed off when a sudden and foreboding wind blew over the land, through Inali's wiry grey mane, and carried with it an excited shout sounding over the meadow.

"Enoki! Enoki, are you out here? Hurry up hurry up you have to come see this!"

He looked up at the call of his name just in time to see the young male Tauren calves he usually played with trotting excitedly toward him. They stopped a few yards from where the duo sat, tails wagging and hands fluttering urgently for him to follow. He grinned, long ears standing upright, and waved to them before he turned to his grandfather pleadingly.

Inali winced, wanting to continue the lesson after Enoki had finally done something right. The exuberant, curious expression on the Troll's face was undeniably persuasive, and he smiled in defeat as he shook his head and waved him off.

"Go," the old bull chuckled, "We will continue tomorrow…"

Enoki cheered and leapt to his feet instantaneously to charge off and join the others, all of the short-horned, frizzy maned younglings whooping to have their friend back and dragging him off. They left Inali sitting, silent and still as always, watching the sun set with heavy heart and wondering if the fire in Enoki could ever be controlled.

The Troll could hardly care less about his training or the ways of the elements as he coursed back through the fields with his friends, feet nimble over the warm earth as he trotted circles and cart-wheeled around them.

"So what be so excitin' guys? Come on spill!" he laughed, hopping onto his hands and walking a few steps forward.

Mokos, a devious, cobalt grey-furred unspoken leader with the most impressively developed horns of the small herd punched a fist into the air.

"You HAVE to see it to believe it Enoki!" he piped.

"YEAH!" his second in command chestnut-furred friend, Etaha, chimed in, "They came in just a bit ago we can still catch them!"

"WHO?" the Troll repeated with a laugh in both curiosity and playful frustration.

"Orcs! From the military!" Mokos cried out to have the final word, "And they have a Troll with them just like you Enoki!"

Enoki's emerald eyes went wide and his stomach fluttered with excitement. He could barely remember what his own people even looked like, much less how they acted and spoke. He had not seen other Trolls since the day of the razing of his village.

"Anoddah Troll like me? A Darkspear?" he asked, quickening his pace eagerly.

Mokos gasped and stumbled to keep up with the swift footed shaman.

"I guess so, if he's with Orcs. Darkspears are the only ones in the Horde right?" he said.

Enoki needed to hear nothing more before he sped ahead and left his herd lagging and complaining behind. He forgot to even pause the moment it took to conjure his ghost wolf form in his flighty exhilaration, his heart racing and his eyes brilliant. He sprinted full speed back to the edge of the village where once he arrived he crouched low atop a small knoll to watch. He flattened his ears against his head as he sank into the lush grass and raised a finger to his lips to quiet the Tauren calves as they finally caught up with him and followed his example eagerly.

Down in the village square a small, weary battalion of Orcs stood in full Horde regalia, their dented, beloved weapons propped against battle-hardened, scarred bodies and a small gathering of villagers swarming around them. They offered food and water in adoration which the soldiers gratefully took as they waited patiently for the Elder to arrive to ask humbly for lodging. Enoki bobbed his head as he scrambled curiously along the ridge and searched desperately for any sign of one of his own. There was a shuffle of feet as the chief and elder arrived, the Orcs moving to greet him with the respect he was owned, and the crowd parted to reveal him at last.

He stood crooked and rakish among the craggy, mountainous bodies of his Orc brothers. His rich blue skin rippled over his lanky, slender form, and his wild purple hair stood in a carefully arced Mohawk over his head. Long ears flicked, laden with rings, feathers, and marked with years of battle and his tusks jutted proudly from his jaw adorned with silver and golden bands. The Troll was dressed in the same uniform armor as the Orcs but he held a wicked looking rifle over his shoulder and a sleek black jungle panther was curled obediently by his feet. A fresh sprig of seeded grass twitched and swayed between his lips as he waited and his sun disc yellow eyes glinted coy and sharp as he watched the surroundings.

Enoki's jaw dropped in awe of the warrior, taken by every inch of him and his handsome razor armored glory. His cheeks burned with warmth to look upon him and he found himself magnetically leaning closer over the safety of the hill. Mercifully, before he could topple over several hands reached out and snagged the waistband of his trousers and jerked him skittishly back.

"ENOKI!" Mokos hissed into his ear, "You wanna give us away and make us look lame?"

Enoki shook his head dumbly, eyes still trained down on the rugged older Troll. He was drinking greedily of every sight he could get of him, his powerful body, the way his back curved and muscular legs bent. Even the way he held his gun askew, loosely in his weathered three-fingered hands as if it were a part of his body and the way his lips curled over his tusks in a permanent smug little grin intoxicated the youngling in a way he had never felt before. As if he could sense the stare, the hunter's ears quivered and he turned his head knowingly. Emerald irises met glowing amber for a brief moment and connected two Trolls across the short distance seeing, knowing each other in one silent moment of understanding. The hunter gave the moment pause, smirked and raised a hand in salute jauntily to the red-head before he finally returned to the business at hand.

Enoki was left flushed, starry-eyed and staring blatantly with his jaw hanging slack as the elder of the village finally made his decree. They were a peaceful village, and as such heavily invested in anything that could keep that peace so everyone was ready and willing to do what they could to support the military that fought for them. Enoki only returned to reality once he heard the ancient bull ask who would give the soldiers refuge for the night. His ears stood straight up and he looked frantically for his Grandfather.

"We got room!" he said to no one in particular and leapt to his feet anxiously, certain the Troll would be the first to receive an offer for a place to stay.

"Huh?" one of the calves began, "Eno what are you-"

The Troll was long gone, clambering in a flash of red hair and upset blades of grass down the hill and to the crowd.

Unbeknownst to him, Inali had done his best to catch up and see for himself what the ruckus was all about and had been standing in the back of the crowd for some time. He watched his Grandson up on the hill with longing regret at the look in his eyes to see one of his people and knew despite all his guidance and love for the boy, he was no substitute for one of his own kind.

The old shaman had done his best to raise him, he knew also, but he knew little of the Trolls, even less of the Darkspear tribe in particular and Enoki's curiosity was endless as the oceans. The greatest of Inali's knowledge of his people had always been mere raindrops across it for the young Troll. He saw him tumble clumsily down the hill with gusto and closed his eyes with a tragic smile, knowing what he needed to do.

The revered old bull shuffled forward on his staff and raised a hand to the crowd of soldiers that were already drifting toward friendly invitations and gestured toward the violet maned Hunter. His ears pricked up and he smiled cordially.

"Honored brother of the Darkspear Tribe," he began slowly, "Please, I implore you to accept my home as yours for the night, for you see I have raised one of your own, orphaned as a child, and I feel he would benefit most strongly from your presence."

The troll stood dumbfounded for a moment before all the pieces fit together. The red-head on the hill, the nervousness and awe radiating from him, and he raised a finger cheerily in the air.

"Oh ho! So dat young'un up dere on de-" he began before something warm and hard plowed into his side with a flurry of long gangly limbs and bright crimson hair.

"ACH! S-Sorreh mon! Sorreh!" Enoki spluttered as he reeled back, cheeks as red as the messy locks covering his face.

"Enoki!" Inali gasped in mortified horror, "_Look_ where you're running, please!"

His grandfather's words were lost on him however, because he was standing in the presence of the most magnificent creature he had ever seen. The younger Troll could hardly think of what to say, he had forgotten all of the traditional Zandali formal greetings, even the Orcish ones or the way the Tauren greeted strangers. The Hunter for the moment was occupied by tripping over his panther who skittered out of the way with an indignant snarl as her master hopped deftly on one foot and steadied himself. He laughed despite it and grinned rakishly at the spirited young Shaman in training.

"Ah, so here we have de little sneak!" he guffawed, "No wondah yeh look like yeh seen a ghost! Poor little ting, ain' seein' one a'yah own kind in all dat time."

Enoki managed a tiny squeak and nodded as he finally came up with a polite bow.

"U-Uh! Yah! I uh, er what I be sayin' is… I well! It jes' dat!" he stuttered gracelessly, gesturing wildly with his hands.

"What he is saying is the same as what I just did, he merely confirms my thoughts on the matter," Inali finished sadly.

Watching the worship of the older Troll about his young ward was painful in a way he had never experienced. For the first time in Enoki's near ten year stay with him, he felt as if he had failed him.

"Please, I insist."

The Tauren turned with his words and started off toward his hut while violet haired hunter smiled and laid a strong, rough hand on Enoki's shoulder.

"Heh, well, guess I be comin' tah witchoo two!" he piped as he nudged the boy forward.

Enoki squawked and tottered unsteadily after Inali, his wide emerald eyes still trained on the hunter as he shuffled jauntily beside him panther in tow.

"Uh, y-yah mon! It be an honah! True honah! I not seen anoddah Troll since I was a tiny whelp!" he piped, suddenly remembering to thrust out his hand, "Mah name be Enoki, an' you?"

A broad, violet skinned and three-fingered hand closed around his and shook it firmly, puckish golden yellow eyes glinting with joy.

"I be Jyota… Pleased tah make yah acquaintance!"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Ye Gods a chapter 3! Slow writer is slow. But it's good and meaty! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

The sun set on Aykwani village that night with an extra dinner guest at the fire in nearly every home. The Orcs felt welcome and at ease with their old friends the Tauren, but none felt so welcome and adored than Jyota of the Darkspear tribe who sat with Inali and his young adoptive grandson.

Inali, despite the odd heavy sadness in his heart, had prepared a feast as if the Warchief himself were coming to dinner and left Enoki to chat with the Troll freely and openly. Enoki, as well he expected, had been a storm cloud of questions and curiosity, and Jyota had done his best to answer every rapid fire query he could.

Long after the food was gone, soothing herbal tea with dessert had been served, and the candles had gone out leaving the only light in the cabin the warm orange firelight, the two Trolls lingered at the table, still talking as Jyota smoked a thick, rich smelling tobacco from a long feathered pipe and Enoki greedily polished off the last of the sweet seed cake. Jyota's panther, which Enoki had learned was called Sharvari, lay contentedly preening her midnight black coat by the fire beside them having been more than well fed herself.

"So how long yeh had her…?" Enoki asked quietly in the never ending string of inquiry.

"Mmm, oh I dunno, since I jes startin' out realleh, had some fussy pig dat ran off on a mission in Stranglethorn, den I found her as a little cub, mama poached by some greedy goblin or sommat an' I jes knew… We was meant tah be partners," he mused.

The Hunter leaned back in his chair with nostalgia and crossed his legs, closing his eyes as he exhaled a perfect ring of smoke. Enoki gasped in awe and reached out to let it float into his outstretched palm, much to Jyota's amusement.

"Don' yeh all smoke pipes heah? I know dem Tauren be fond a' it," he asked.

"Uh, well yah dey smoke, but it more a ritual ting, an' kids ain' allowed tah do it," the shaman replied with a pout.

"Ah, I see, an' a Tauren ain' an adult til latah den a Troll would be eh?"

Enoki crossed his arms over his chest bitterly.

"I fifteen!" he puffed, "Mah folks die when I was five, but I know dat sixteen a man in our tribe! I close enough!"

Jyota chortled, a deep, pleasant rumbling sound in his broad chest, and patted Enoki's russet head.

"Close enough indeed," he said and smoothly passed the pipe on to the teen.

Enoki stared at it as if he had been passed a sack of glittering gems and gold from a dragon's personal stash and reached a timid hand out to take the stem.

"C-Can I REALLEH?" he breathed in awe.

Jyota merely grinned puckishly and urged the pipe into his hands.

Enoki took it and cradled it, emerald green eyes alight with wonder before they closed and he took the mouthpiece. He inhaled overzealously, held it a brief second, and his face twisted in an unholy expression of shock that nearly sent the hunter keeling from his chair in laughter. The duped youngster finally gathered the will to exhale with a flurry of hot grey smoke and doubled over as he hacked and coughed. Jyota's laughter lasted even longer than his coughing fit, and once he was able he sat bolt upright furiously.

"Well yeh coulda mentioned it SUCKS! De hell anyone wanna do dat tah demselves?" he snarled in outrage.

Jyota snorted loudly through his long nose and managed to get back up as he wiped a tear from the corner of his twinkling golden eye.

"HAH! Yeh didn' have tah suck it in like smellin' a bed a'daisies mon!" he cackled.

Enoki's cheeks flushed brilliant crimson beneath the cool teal and his ears drooped low to hunker in embarrassment.

"W-Well yeh don' gotta make fun…" he indignantly murmured, "I dunno what I be doin'!"

A gentle hand found his shoulder and the humiliated youth looked back up into the Hunter's wise and playful gaze.

"Enoki, kid, dat jes' de way we are! Don' tell me yeh ain' de first person tah point an' laugh when some doofus end up face first in de mud?"

The mere mental image was enough to coil the young Shaman's lips viciously over his tusks with glee.

"Hehe, dat be true," he agreed, "Grandda always gettin' on meh fah laughin' when I shouldn'a."

"Dat cause he a Tauren mon! Tauren ain' got no senses a' humor at all, all babblin' on 'bout de Earthmotha an' peace an' de spirits an' de Earth an' all dat," Jyota drawled, drawing heavily on his pipe. Smoke slithered from under his nostrils as he spoke again, "You be a Troll! Born'a centuries'a battle an' war, learnin' day by day how tah survive, an' crushin' enemies an' laughin' when dey fell. Yeh ain' nothin' like a Tauren, yah people ain' nothin' like 'em. Yeh outta place heah an' I sure you felt it all yah li-Ah! Not tah… Yanno, say dat it ain' a good ting yah got saved or nottin'!"

Jyota hastily dismissed his borderline offensiveness with a frantic waving of his hands. Enoki merely smirked and tossed his hair.

"Naw naw! Don' say dat, I know yeh right, I nevah fit in heah. I grew up loved an' taken care of, but treated like dey would one'a dey own calves," he explained ruefully. Regret and longing laced his voice to think what it would have been like to have been adopted by his own kind.

"Ah, makes sense, don' know how tah raise a Troll whelp right. Heh, but you don' seem no worse fah de wear, jes' mebbe a bit awkward," Jyota replied.

"I ain' fah sure, Grandda love me like his own, teach me de ways a' Shamanism like a true mastah an' nevah ask nothin' in return… But," Enoki began, wrinkling his nose as he thought of how to express his thoughts.

"But it ain' whatcha want."

The teen's eyes snapped open wide and his head jerked up to find himself suddenly face to face and staring straight into the intense, golden gaze of the other with his breath robbed from his chest and heat rising in his cheeks. The firelight flickered in impassioned scarlet over the Hunter's handsome, angular countenance framed in wild violet hair and illuminated his intoxicating grin. For the first time his rugged scent of leather, pipe smoke and wild fields drifted through Enoki's nose and ran like a cool, seductive touch down his spine. He shivered visibly and dared to lean the slightest bit closer.

"I-I…" Enoki stammered at length.

"I can see it in yeh," Jyota continued before the boy could refute him, leaning down closer still until their tusks were barely touching, "De heart an' fire of a warrior, a fightah, a Troll of de Darkspear tribe! Dere ain' no healah in dis soul, you meant fah sometin' else entirely, sometin' much more, you were meant tah fight. Shaman wouldn' be worth nothin' if dey weren't de fiercest of warriors on de battlefield, even Warchief Thrall 'imself be a Shaman!"

The words spoken in deep, robust baritone were hot, wonderful poison in his veins and Enoki found himself with a dopey, enraptured grin plastered to his face but not caring in the slightest.

"I… Nevah t'ought dat way," he breathed in awe.

He could almost hear the war drums he had only heard stories of, smell the sulfur and blood of the battlefield and feel the weight of a weapon in his hands. The centuries of bloodshed within him that lay a dormant ember were suddenly stirred to life in the presence of the enigmatic, stunning stranger. Not only did he stoke those fires of adventure and glory in his heart, with them he brought forth an entirely new feeling that made his blood rush and his heart pound. Unknown, nameless desire was welling up inside of him and seeking an unknown release. It writhed and begged, but remained unquenched even as Jyota's rough, three-fingered hand cupped his chin gently.

"Cause yeh didn' know no oddah way existed mon. It so obvious, like an itch you can't scratch, I can see it all ovah you," he whispered.

He cocked his head to the side coyly as he imagined the young Shaman in the heat of battle with his red hair flying, muscles taut under teal skin shining with sweat and blood, and crackling with deadly thunder and flames. It was an altogether pleasing thought, and coupled with Enoki's flushed and parted lips mere inches from his it was becoming more and more difficult to resist the growing urge to kiss him. Charming, handsome, and adorable as the young thing was, however, the fact still remained he was utterly innocent, far younger than he, and they were sitting around his Grandfather's dinner table. Troll or not, Jyota was never one to usurp the authority of a parent over their child and take advantage of generosity unheeded.

Not in their own home at least.

"But I don' know anytin' 'bout fightin'," Enoki finally admitted sheepishly, "I know how tah control de elements, but I can't fight. An' I don' got nowhere tah go tah learn, dis village be all I evah known!"

A sudden bolt of inspiration born of such a simple remark struck him, and Jyota's ears pricked up with interest and an unholy smirk of glee spread across his lips. Enoki's heart skipped a beat at the mere sight.

"Well dere be ways tah fix dat, kiddo," the Hunter cackled with a purr as he slipped his fingers elegantly away from the younger Troll's chin and traced them along the curve of his tusks.

Had Enoki not immediately flushed and nearly swooned, he might have been able to conjure a more charming response than the garbled, 'huh?' that he managed to croak.

"Heh, well you got a military trained Troll sittin' right heah beside yah mon!" Jyota elaborated with a gallant gesture, "And we gonna stay heah a few days tah rest up before we get goin' back tah Thundahbluff tah be reassigned, I tink dat be enough time tah teach you de basics!"

Realization spread over Enoki's face with the radiant illumination of dawn breaking over the horizon and his eyes shone brighter than the sun as he looked over to Jyota in worship.

"Y-You serious? You'd realleh teach me?" he whispered.

"A'course mon!" Jyota crooned with a crooked, mock salute, "It be mah duty as an honorable Darkspear tah show you de ways of our people an' train you fah battle like yah papa woulda!"

Effervescent euphoria rose quickly within the red-headed Shaman and he made not even the slightest attempt to contain it. It exploded throughout every fiber of his being as a noisy whoop of delight with a fist punched firmly to the sky. Afterward, he leapt to his feet and eagerly clutched at Jyota's shoulder, eyes meeting his once again.

"Dis be incredible! I can't t'ank you enough Jyota! We gonna start first ting tomorrow?"

Jyota pursed his lips amusedly over his gold and silver banded tusks and nodded.

"At first light mon, be outside dis hut ready an' rarin' tah go. I expect you tah be in top form too, so you best get some rest eh?" he replied.

Enoki nodded as well, but his grip on the hunter's shoulder only tightened. He supposed it was an indirect suggestion for them both to get to bed, but he could hardly sleep with Jyota's face in his head, his heart pounding so fast and his stomach fluttering so violently.

"I… Dunno if I can wait dat long," he finally told him with a pointed, shy smile.

It was clear what the other was craving, at least to the experienced Hunter, but Jyota hesitated.

"Heh, I know yeh be eager kiddo, but I gonna run you ragged fah sure, if you tired you ain' gonna be no good tah me," he countered to fend him off. Not without regret however. The Shaman really was entirely too cute for his own good, Jyota thought.

"I know dat," Enoki answered quickly, his thin veil of confidence already shattered.

He paused and ducked his head to hide the light red spreading over his cheeks.

"I jes'… D-Don' wanna stop talkin' tah you jes' yet…"

Jyota dared not admit to himself he was surprised but he fell silent and stunned nevertheless. It was abundantly obvious, at least to him, the young Shaman was suffering from infatuation. The problem was, he couldn't say he didn't feel the same way. The violet haired Troll found himself leaning in close to Enoki again, half-lidded and smiling softly as he felt the other's warm, nervous breath over his lips.

"Yanno… I kinda feel de same way," Jyota whispered.

His hand swooped gracefully to cup Enoki's cheek, his eyes closed, his lips parted, but the sound of a door opening and hooves on the earthen floor shattered the moment before it was consummated. Enoki jerked back in terror, cheeks scarlet with mortified flame, and shrunk in the towering shadow of his drowsy grandfather standing in the doorway. The old bull only squinted at the scene, momentarily confused and Jyota casually cleared his throat and stood as if he had already been on his way to bed, cool and collected as ever.

"Enoki, I went to bed ages ago, what are you still doing up?" Inali grunted as calmly as he could manage.

Enoki spluttered nonsense for an explanation and gestured wildly about with his hands. Convinced utterly his grandfather had seen him about to knowingly and desirously kiss someone, and another male at that, his mind and tongue had become violently severed from one another. Luckily for him Inali was still half asleep, and Jyota was in composed, slick control of his facilities.

With a snap of his fingers Sharvari was up, on her feet and by his side as he sauntered over to the Tauren and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, please tah be forgivin' ol' Jyota mon, I tend tah be a windbag an' prattle on' fah hours if I get de chance!" he cut in, allowing Enoki to quickly scuttle away to clear the table and compose himself.

Inali raised a thick, furred brow and a bovine ear flicked curiously.

"Oooh…?" came the bleary half-yawn.

"A'course! Enoki got so many questions an' I jes got tah talkin' we totally forgot de time! But I be off now, t'anks again fah de food an' de room!" Jyota continued, piped an airy whistle through his teeth at his cat, and just as quickly as the moment was broken, vanished into the back reaches of the cabin and into the guest room.

Inali was left watching his decidedly guilty looking grandson tidy up, cheeks still as red as his hair over his teal skin and usually nimble hands unsure and clumsy as he stacked dishes and carried them off. The Tauren closed his eyes and sighed. He could barely get Enoki to focus for an afternoon. There was something more to the seemingly simple story offered by his hospitable and honored guest and Inali knew instinctively what it was. Even if it made him feel suddenly old and useless, he supposed that was the pain a true parent went through when they saw their beloved child suddenly not needing them any longer.

"I uh…" Enoki's timid voice finally broke his stupor and he looked down into the ashamed emerald eyes turned pitifully up at him, "I sorreh… Grandda, I didn' mean tah wake yeh up, or stay up so late! I-I jes'-!"

Inali shook his great head and wrapped a loving arm around the Troll's broad shoulders to lead him back to his room.

"It's alright Enoki. I understand, it's new and exciting for you, and you're connecting back to your roots. Anyone would have trouble ending that to go to sleep. Why, you can sleep anytime, right?" he said with a throaty chuckle.

Enoki's ears pricked back up from being flattened to his skull and he snickered as well, even as Inali trailed off into coughing.

"Yeh! Dat true! An' sleepin' borin' anyway!" he agreed, "Mon, he so smart, an' he been everywhere an' seen everytin'! Dragons an' Elf cities an' volcanoes an'- Yeesh I could still be askin' 'im stuff!"

"I'm sure, but you still need your rest, we still have to keep up with our training, guest or no," Inali reminded him and ushered him toward his room.

The red-haired Troll stopped with a hand on the door as Jyota's words suddenly echoed against his grandfather's. As much as he wanted to be a great Shaman, to be disciplined and learn the ways of the spirits to walk the path of his ancestors, somehow, he felt then like he was reciting words he had read from a book and not from his heart.

"O-Oh yeh, alrigh'… Uh, first ting, yeh… Night, Grandda…"

Inali opened his door for him and Enoki shuffled in obediently and headed straight for his bed.

As the door closed and he undressed, Inali lingered with a longing hand on the knob. It seemed like it had been only the previous year he had carried the trembling little whelp home, given him a home and hope again, and too soon he was fully grown, with a mind of his own and an awakening wildness he knew could not stay tamed for long.

The bull turned and walked back to his own room, but not without one last mournful glance over his shoulder toward Enoki's door. The chilling, foreboding wind stirred through the village and his old bones once more and as he finally gathered the will to go back to bed, he knew in his heart the morning sun would bring change, whether he was prepared or not.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Chapter 4 exists! I do still write! Woohoo! And a chapter that's a bit longer than the others have been and out a little sooner! Maybe I'm getting into the swing of this one? Dunno! Enjoy! 8D

**Chapter 4**

A golden, fiery sun rose over the rolling emerald plains of Mulgore the next morning and touched Aykwani and its dozing inhabitants with the misty, platinum sheen of dawn. The sleepy little village roused slowly with the sun as they did every morning; the shop keepers and farmers wended their way to work, the embers from the communal fire pits were rekindled and stoked to bright, crackling infernos, but in the midst of routine and regularity, the elders had convened at the center of the village to hold a special breakfast for their military guests.

The finest meats were brought out from storage along with the most exotic spices from every corner of the world. The fresh fruit supply was nearly exhausted to set out, peel, decorate or juice. Every egg from every nest had been gathered and cracked and skillets, pots and spits all crackled and simmered with the melody of early morning cooking. There was so much to cook and prepare to please the hungry soldiers armed with voracious Orcish appetites no one noticed that something else was drastically different that morning. No ghost wolf and no elderly Shaman master had yet made their usual spectacle of leaving town for training in the fields.

Blissfully unaware, Inali lay in peace sleeping late after he had been roused by voices in the wee hours of the morning and spent what seemed like an eternity afterward still awake and ruminating over the arrival of the enigmatic Troll hunter. Enoki, having always needed to be woken up forcibly in the morning, naturally was still out cold, sprawled over the entirety of his bed on his back with lanky limbs spread and snoring loudly through his long nose. The only one in the Ebonfeather household that had realized the time seemed to be their esteemed guest, who had woken on Hunter's instinct aided by Sharvari's sharp clawed insistence moments before first light. He had dressed and cleaned himself quietly and, remembering his pact with Enoki, gone to the stables to fetch his faithful raptor and wait outside for the other.

When he failed to arrive at dawn as they had promised Jyota had fairly well expected as much and hadn't minded waiting in the slightest. He was actually pleased he could go about his usual routine of training with his cat and exercise her vigorously the way they did every morning in the peaceful isolation of the steely early dawn; even if it was interrupted every now and then by nagging, arousing thoughts of a certain ravishingly spirited redhead.

The time dragged tediously on just the two of them until the exercise routine was long over, the sky was freshly blue and the smoke from the breakfast fires streaked like flares toward the rising sun. Enough at that point was quite enough and he shuffled his way back to the painted cabin of tanned hide and wood with amusement.

His raptor followed obediently behind tugged by his reins and Sharvari pranced light-footed ahead of him, glistening and invigorated as she sniffed her way to Enoki's window. She sat heavily on her haunches outside the way she would upon discovering prey while her master caught up and peered deviously inside. The sight that greeted him there instantly brought a smile to his face.

Enoki's bed was just below the glassless window and he had an absolutely perfect view of the handsome Shaman in repose. His youthful face was peaceful, but devious and wily in his dreams where his inner nature reigned over the discipline engrained in him being raised by the much gentler spirited Tauren. The fiery red trail of his thin ponytail draped around his nearly naked body like a line of flame and shone brightly in the sharp rays of light filtering around him. His powerful, chiseled chest rose and fell undisturbed, but Jyota could only resist touching him for so long.

The Hunter reached down over the wooden sill to heartily indulge himself and brushed his knuckles over his high cheekbone and along the feathered red hair of his jaw line. Enoki's chest filled sharply with roused breath and he stirred, but did not wake, and Jyota drew back with a snicker.

"Oi, hey! Enoki! Wake up, mon!" he laughed.

An ear twitched at the sound of his voice, a hand curled on the pillow, his brow furrowed, and after a few seconds to allow his own name to percolate down into his groggy mind he jerked upright, emerald eyes bleary and half lidded.

"M'up m'up!" he spluttered, rubbing his tusks and yawning as he gestured out of habit toward the door where Inali would be standing, "J-Jes' five more minutes Grandda…?"

Merry laughter brimmed in Jyota's throat and he folded his arms on the window sill to plop his chin jauntily atop them.

"Grandda? Well I certainly hope I ain' a Grandfathah!" he crooned.

Enoki's eyes snapped open starkly, jarred at the smooth, accented voice in place of Inali's, and he whipped around to his window.

"JYOTA!" he cried upon spotting the Hunter.

"De one an' onleh!" he chirruped in response, "Now if I ain' mistaken, we had a date dis mornin' fah oh say… Bout dawn?"

Jyota didn't even have to finish his sentence before the Shaman had cried out with a dramatic leap from bed, crashed into the trunk at the foot of it and flung it open frantically digging through it for clothes.

"Ah JEEZ I slept in didn' I? I so SORREH Jyota, I be out real soon!"

Jyota pursed his lips seductively and clicked his tongue. He would have waited much longer to get a chance to see the red-head in only a short pair of soft cotton sleeping shorts and nothing more, and he was enjoying the view far too much to urge him to go any faster.

"Take all de time yeh need…"

Fortunately, or unfortunately for the Hunter, Enoki was too busy pulling on well loved knee length black leather trousers with a simple sleeveless green tunic in a rush to leave to even hear him. Once he felt presentable, he smoothed out his wild mane and picked up his usual feathered leather thong to bind his ponytail low at the nape of his neck.

"Alrigh' ready tah go," he said as he tossed his hair back and strode to the window, "I meetcha out front?"

Jyota of course already knew the answer but he feigned a long and grave ponder complete with a furrowed, heavy brow and a thoughtful hand on his chin.

"Hmmm, wait fah yeh tah sneak around so yeh don' wake de old man, or sweep yeh offa yah feet and whisk yeh off from yah windowsill on mah noble steed?" he mused almost seriously, "Tough choice, but I gotta go wit' option numbah two!"

"Noble steed? Whisk me? Whatcha mean by-" Enoki began as he clambered atop his bed to look outside, but before he could finish Jyota's powerful arms darted in, encircled his slender waist and hauled him heroically over one shoulder and out of the window.

The Shaman yelped in protest as he left solid ground and his vision spun, but in a split second the other Troll had gracefully righted him again and this time on the seat of a tooled leather saddle strapped securely to the back of a magnificent brilliant green raptor. The beast chattered curiously and glanced backward at the stranger in his saddle and Enoki stiffened, back rigid as a post and hands clutching nervously at the saddle horn.

"Wh-What be dis?!" he squeaked.

Jyota laughed heartily as he chucked a peace offering of jerky to the reptile for the extra passenger and swung himself up onto his back as well in front of him.

"A raptor mon! Don' tell me yeh don' even know what a raptor is!"

Enoki immediately flung his arms around the hunter's waist in solid conviction his mount was about to buck him and hissed into his ear.

"Course I know what one IS!" he snapped, "I-I jes nevah actually seen one! Much less been tossed on de back'a one!"

Jyota grinned and laid a comforting hand on Enoki's clamped solidly above his belt.

"Well den about time. Yeh ain' no kinda Troll til yeh tamed an' ridden de terror a' de jungle an' de pride of our race!" he proclaimed and took up the reins theatrically, "Hold on tight kiddo!"

"W-Wait what about- I dunno how tah- Where we gonna-?"

The crack of the reins resounded in the air and what feeble protests Enoki could offer were halted, silenced and rendered useless before he could form a complete sentence as the raptor obediently lurched into a full sprint. The Shaman screeched and snapped in terror into Jyota's back, hiding his face and squeezing his hard lithe body close. The village quickly whipped away around them and was left in the distance as raptor sped from the Tauren settlement as nothing but an emerald blur followed by the fiery red trail of Enoki's ponytail sailing behind him in the wind.

For what seemed like eternity all Enoki could do was hold on for dear life against the jolting motion of the reptile's taloned feet over the plains with his eyes squeezed shut and legs clamped firmly onto the saddle. It was the single most jarring moment of his life up until that point. He felt dizzy and sick, like his stomach was going to crawl up his throat, but thrust headlong into the wild ride it was not long until his body grew strangely accustomed to the motion and sank into place behind Jyota. Aykwani was but a speck on the horizon when something about the raptor suddenly felt natural as they rode aimlessly and swiftly out into the green lushness of the tall waving grasslands and Enoki managed to crack one eye open to survey.

As he glanced skittishly down he found they were riding along the gentle peaks of a ridge of hills with the riverbed at the base of the slope below them. The golden sun glistened off the babbling waters and the swift black silhouette of the raptor and his riders flickered over the glassy surface. Enoki's breath caught in his chest at the sight and his other eye opened as he finally raised his head to the wind and peered over Jyota's shoulder. The hunter glanced back and grinned crookedly when he felt Enoki finally unwind.

"Heh, yeh okay back dere mon?" he asked loudly over the sound of the rapid wind and thundering talons in the grass.

"Y-Yeah! I be fine!" Enoki called back, a note of joy ringing brightly in his words, "Keep goin'! I fine!"

His heart raced faster in his chest as they rode on. His muscles relaxed, his body fell into the rhythm of the run and his arms slowly uncoiled from Jyota's waist. The sick feeling had morphed into a triumphant, weightless exhilaration. He rose at last, hands on the violet-haired Troll's shoulders and thrust himself to the wind above him, standing fearlessly on the back of the speeding raptor and whooping to the sky. Riding a raptor, as it turned out, was as effortless as his own feet in wolf paws over the Earth only ten times as fast and infinitely more thrilling.

"Can't dis beast run any fastah?" he hollered at length, spurring Jyota on like the ride had always been his brilliant idea.

Jyota snorted, amused by the youngling's newfound enthusiasm and snapped the reins firmly against his mount's scaled neck.

"Yeh asked fer it!"

The raptor screeched and whipped forward, sending Enoki bucking down to the saddle for real that time, but laughing and throwing his arms around Jyota's neck as they galloped on.

They skipped and sailed the green waves of plains together like a glimmer of emerald light followed by a streak of flame and a blur of black panther, roving further and further away from the village with the river as their guide. He felt faster than the wind, freer than a bird in the sky, and warm and safe with his arms around the handsome hunter in front of him. Enoki was content to enjoy his first time astride the traditional mount of his people, not to mention Jyota's powerful body taut and elegantly tuned to the motion of the raptor. When they sped up a towering bluff overlooking a small lake pooling in a valley of hills only to slow to a skulking walk his ears pricked up and he butted Jyota's cheek with his tusks.

"Oi, why we stoppin'? It was jes' gettin' good!" he playfully whined.

Jyota jerked the reins up to halt the raptor and slid off the saddle in one fluid motion before he answered.

"Well I promised tah teach yeh tah fight didn' I? I wouldn' be much good as a soldier an' a Broddah Darkspear if I didn' make good on dat promise."

Jyota's golden yellow eyes shone inscrutable gold as he spoke and he reached a hand out to help Enoki down from the saddle. Blushing again, the Shaman nodded and threaded his fingers trustingly into Jyota's as he too slid slightly less gracefully down to the grassy ground.

"O-Oh yeah, dat…"

Enoki ran his hands through his wind tousled ponytail on the spot as Jyota took his raptor to a nearby tree and tied the reins around a low branch. He strode back slowly, looking the younger Troll over and thumbing his chin.

"Mmmm…" he purred appraisingly, "Guess we gotta start off wit de basics den?"

Enoki started out of the mesmerizing stare he had going and turned about face toward his instructor.

"Basics? Ah yeh! Basics! Hand tah hand type stuff right?" he asked, taking a comical imaginary fighting pose.

Jyota sauntered over to him with his arms crossed in the small of his back and craned over his shoulder.

"Dat right kiddo, but de basic fightin' stance be more like dis," he whispered against the back of Enoki's long ear.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled and stood with the shiver of pleasure that tingled down his spine and Jyota's rough, calloused hands sliding like liquid flame over his arms. They clasped his wrists and bent his lanky and now far too easily pliable arms into a crooked, deadly pose. He shuffled his feet behind his and lined his legs against his own, buckled his knees, widened his stance and stooped his figure to a poised and deadly fighter's position.

Enoki's heart fluttered against his ribcage as his lips coiled into a wicked grin over his tusks. Posed in such a way made he felt strong, steady and dangerous, like his body could just fall without effort into the motion of drums of war unheard. He closed his eyes to imagine what it would be like to whirl like the wind and strike hot as a flame, fluid and unstoppable. His fists wielded axes smoldering in fire, he ducked and dodged in the hallowed Darkspear dance of war, striking with ruthless accuracy and cutting down his foes for the glory of his people, his tribe, and the Horde.

It was tangible, believable, and his eyes snapped open to the serene bluff instead of the sulfured, smoky battlefield, but with Jyota's body pressed to his and guiding his limbs in the very motions of his daydream. Enoki followed him and moved as he moved silent and awed, cheeks crimson and body memorizing every nuance of the technique, as well as the body of the hunter behind him.

His eyes slid shut and he tipped his head back against the broad shoulder of his companion, a longing sigh escaping his lips.

"Dat's it eh?" he breathed.

Jyota ignored the younger redhead's alluring brush against him by pushing his arm once more in the path of a proper punch.

"More or less," he answered simply, "De key tah fightin' fah us Trolls is speed an' agility. We don' got de brute strength an Orc or a Tauren do."

Enoki grunted in agreement, opened his eyes and glanced back toward Jyota who was clearly avoiding looking directly at him. He had never done a very good job hiding his desires in his presence, Enoki thought with a mischievous smirk.

"Ah I see, so, quickness a' body an' mind, I got dat right?" the Shaman mused, ears cocked crookedly and a glint in his green eyes.

"Dat be de way we always fought!" Jyota answered enthusiastically, "Outwittin' as well as outmaneuverin', Trolls got de quickest minds in de heat a' battle, part'a what makes us so deadly."

He began to prattle on about battles and the history of Troll warfare mostly to distract himself, but Enoki was listening no longer. His mind was sharply focused on Jyota's body and its serpentine fluid motion and waiting for just the right moment. His legs moved in perfect practiced routine, commanding, solid and immovable as stone at first, but with a novice in his arms and a nagging desire clouding his concentration, the poor hunter felt little need to be on guard. The instant his mind strayed and his stance broke, Enoki lurched from his grasp.

Jyota stood stunned and confused as the warm body left his arms, giving Enoki the second he needed to duck and kick the Hunter's feet out from underneath him. He toppled backward with a yelp and landed hard on his back, and as soon as he opened his eyes again Enoki pinned him firmly to the ground by his shoulders and straddled his hips with an unholy grin on his face.

"Outwittin' an' outmaneuverin', jes' like dat right?" he asked smugly.

Jyota's words were lost to him as he chuckled nervously, unsure if Enoki was merely following his direction or if there was something more to his playful assault.

"Ahah, uh, well yeah, you could say dat, I suppose," he said meekly.

"I could say dat? Hey but yeh was jes' teachin' me dis be de way we Darkspear fight right?" Enoki elaborated.

"Yeah I was but we don' normally…" Jyota started, but trailed off, turning his head to the side.

"Don' normally…" Enoki continued for him mockingly, "End up sittin' on toppa yah enemies? Or… Don' normally avoid kissin' someone when it obvious you both want to?"

Jyota snapped his head back up, eyes wide and speechless again.

"I jes'…" he defended quietly, "I jes' didn' wanna take advantage a' you, or a' yah Grandfathah."

Enoki's wild red mane bristled and he shook his head insistently.

"Naw mon! Grandda… He happeh tah letcha stay, an' he ain' got say ovah EVERYTIN' I do. An' when I went tah bed last night all I could tink'a was… You, almost kissin' me," he insisted, ears drooping and cheeks flushing.

His eyes shifted to the side embarrassedly but Jyota's rough knuckles grazed tenderly over his cheek and coaxed him back to a warm smile.

"I jes wasn' sure," whispered the hunter.

"Heh, an' wit good reason, I ain' nevah… Liked someone before, much less wanted… A-A kiss…" Enoki replied, gazing down upon the handsome face of the seasoned warrior, violet Mohawk crushed erratically through crisp blades of grass and golden eyes shining in the light.

"Heh, yeh act like a kiss be sometin' easy tah bum offa someone!" Jyota teased.

Enoki narrowed one eye and tilted his head with a thoughtful twist of his lips.

"Oh? And it isn't easy? You sayin' you still ain' gonna kiss me?"

"Ain't sayin' I will an' ain't sayin' I won't… Little Shaman," came the smug answer.

"Oy! Don' call me sometin' like dat!" Enoki puffed in a brief spark of outrage; a spark that quite literally crackled around his body.

"Awww!" Jyota exclaimed in delight, "Calm down dere Sparky, yah ain' gettin' nottin' if yah zap me!"

The second nickname wasn't any better than the first, but reluctantly the redhead composed himself enough for a dramatic sneer.

"You tink you so cool," he mused, "Actin' all disinterested an' like yah know what best fah me or sometin! So how 'bout we strike an impossible deal?"

"An impossible deal?" Jyota repeated, his torn and pierced ears perking slightly.

"Yeah! You jes taught me some basic offensive routine right? An' you been in de military fah a thousand years or so!" Enoki began with a sweeping gesture of his hands and a chuckle, "Den spar wit me! If I can knock yeh ovah again, den you have to kiss me. How 'bout dat?"

Though Jyota could see the impish gleam in those hypnotic viridian irises that promised mischief of some kind, it only made his heart light with a kind of giddy longing he had not felt for quite some time.

"Hah, well dat does sound interestin'," he admitted as he ushered Enoki off of him and stood once more, "I suppose I be game! Jyota was nevah one tah turn down a challenge!"

Enoki hopped backward a few feet and crouched like a wild cat ready to pounce, nodded, and made a taunting gesture with his hand.

"Bring it!"

"You an odd one kiddo, don' be runnin' cryin' tah yah Grandda if I be kickin' yah ass!"

Jyota rolled his eyes with a chuckle, crouched as well, and sprang toward the young Shaman with an easy punch. He dodged effortlessly and delivered the simple kick Jyota had just showed him in retaliation which connected with Jyota's leg as he gently fended off his student. Enoki had greedily absorbed all of the things he had shown him in just the few short minutes and even as they sparred Jyota continued to give him direction. Not without the occasional heckle, however, which he followed without question or hesitation. The Hunter was shocked when Enoki felt confident enough to even begin to add a bit of his own spin onto the moves and on more than one occasion found himself having to truly move to avoid him.

They fought for what seemed like hours, until their bodies gleamed with sweat, their chests heaved with labored breath and the sun blazed dead above in the center of the sky. Even exhausted and clumsy as he was by then, Jyota watched Enoki in rapture as he continued to doggedly and genuinely try to defeat him never stopping or even slowing in pursuit of a simple kiss. It was ridiculously charming, and as he was beginning to tire out anyway he gave into his desire, purposefully misstepped, clashed with Enoki's hurtling leg and collapsed. He wasn't about to go down without taking the stunned looking Shaman with him however, and he dragged the boy down atop him again with a grunt and a breathless cackle between the both of them.

Enoki grinned, the mischief still sparkling in his eyes.

"Aw hey, yah let me win!" he pouted.

Jyota laughed robustly and reached up to cup Enoki's cheeks in his hands and gaze into his eyes.

"Are you complainin'?" he asked.

Enoki shook his head and finally, in a swift blur and a crush of soft heat against his lips, wilted into Jyota's embrace and his kiss. Sparks flew behind his closed lids, tusks carefully threaded around one another and kissing back with innocent gusto. He gave his first kiss wholeheartedly to the other male, his hands tangled in the grass and Jyota's fingers carded through his wildfire red hair. It seemed to last for an eternity and a split second all at once before the Hunter pulled away, grinning wickedly and licking his lips.

"You planned dat all along yah little sneak," he sniggered.

Enoki flopped down atop him, satisfied, his elbows in the grass and his chin in his hands.

"An' so what if I did? It was a bad plan anyways, I jes' lucky I so cute yeh fell fah it," he drawled with a wink.

"Oh you a crafty one," Jyota whispered, stroking Enoki's cheek affectionately, "I like dat. Heh, an' I glad tah see dat yeh can take de Troll outta de jungle, but yeh can't take de wild jungle outta de Troll."

Enoki rolled off the Hunter and into the grass beside him and cast a curious glance his way as he folded his hands behind his head.

"Jungle? I know we came from dere, but we ain' lived in Stranglethorn fah a long time right?" he asked.

"Oh mon… Dat gonna be a loooong story," Jyota replied merrily.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in one another's arms in the fragrant grass as Jyota regaled the young Shaman with tales of the Darkspear tribe. He told him of their ancestors as far as he could remember back, of the tribal wars of old, of Sen'jin, and Vol'jin and their acceptance into the Horde. He gestured above them into the deepening sky as he told him of the Loa, of their Gods and rituals and Enoki watched, transfixed. So engaged was the duo that either of them noticed when the bright blue sky faded into lush and dark indigo velvet studded with twinkling evening stars until it was late in the evening and their stomachs were growling ferociously.

Reluctantly, Jyota finished his storytelling and hoisted Enoki onto the back of his raptor once more for a swift and cool ride home in the rich cobalt light of dusk. Enoki made certain to sneak one last kiss in before they arrived back into town and settled in comfortably with his arms around his waist, his head on his shoulder and a blissful smile on his lips. All of which came to an abrupt end as Jyota rounded a line of huts and guided his mount to the hut Inali shared with his grandfather already standing outside waiting with fury blazing in his eyes.

Jyota reined his raptor to a halt a safe distance away, and Enoki promptly unwound himself from his smitten clinging.

"Grandda!" he gasped, stomach plummeting and heart twisting.

The old grey bull could barely contain his anger. All that was keeping him from exploding at his grandson was the immense relief to see him alive and well.

"Jyota," he began, "They've already started dinner at the central fire, please, go on ahead and we will join you."

Jyota swallowed hard and nodded. He knew when keep his mouth shut and obey orders.

"Oh, t'anks mon, I get goin' right away. Off yah go Sparky," he said and quickly dismounted, helping Enoki off as well.

He left at a brisk pace to the center of town to rejoin his comrades from the army, leaving the Troll and the Tauren standing face to face, one enraged and the other defiantly insolent, his ears pinned to his skull and eyes narrowed to the side.

"Enoki, where in the world have you been young man? I have been worried sick!" Inali snapped once the Hunter was out of earshot.

Enoki wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling ridiculed and belittled after getting a taste of freedom and his heritage.

"Don' call me dat! An' I was jes' out wit Jyota! He came tah my window dis mornin'it was his idea!" he defended curtly.

"I don't care whose brilliant idea it was! All I care about was that I woke up this morning and you were gone! Without a note, without telling anyone, just gone! Where was I supposed to think you had gone? For all I knew you could have been kidnapped by some Alliance spies or eaten by coyotes or lying dead at the bottom of a cliff!"

"What? What de hell you t'inkin' tings like dat for? What gonna happen tah me out heah? An' I was wit Jyota anyway! He woulda protected me!" Enoki snarled.

"The point is I didn't KNOW Enoki! If you had told me, I would have let you go after your training! If only you had asked!" Inali yelled, a plaintive hint of crushed sadness in his voice, "So not only did you try to deceive me, but you flagrantly shirked off your training for today when I explicitly told you we would not be skipping a day just because we had company…"

Irritation coiled and wound tightly in Enoki's chest and his ears burned as he struggled to keep it in check.

"I didn' wanna train today, I wanted tah go wit Jyota!" he growled.

"Why? Whatever for Enoki?" Inali continued, his hands held out in frustration.

"Because he taught me some moves! Real moves, he taught me how tah fight an' defend mahself! He taught me useful t'ings!"

"Useful things? What have I been teaching you then? Parlor tricks?"

"Not how tah defeat an enemy dat's what! An' nothin' 'bout where I came from neiddah! You expect me tah be like you! Tah 'walk wit de earthmoddah' an' peace an' all dat crap! Well what de hell we supposed tah do if de Alliance come marchin' in heah like dey did on mah old village? Huh?! I fah one ain' gonna get down on mah knees an' pray fah de Earthmoddah tah take me! I goin' down fightin', an' at least Jyota finally helped me see dat!" Enoki raged.

Inali, crushed and taken aback by his sudden defiance could only stare.

"Enoki, what's gotten into you…?" he asked softly.

"Nothin'!" he retorted sharply and turned to march into the hut, as confused as ever, "I dunno anymore, but I ain' no kid! Quit treatin' me like one! I goin' tah bed, you go get dinnah witout me."

The door slammed and Inali winced, standing in the darkness bewildered, lost and hurt, but finally understanding what exactly had gotten into his Grandson. He had been content to live the quiet life with him for so many years, but he knew better than to expect tranquility of one who had begun his life in violence. Enoki's soul he knew had always yearned to follow where the sun touched on the horizon, and the cold wind that had blown in that day had carried with it the seed.

His hooves were heavy as he lumbered slowly to the central campfire to eat, but his thoughts were only of the boy he loved as his own. He knew he could not keep him forever, as no parent could keep a child but while he was still able and living he would be damned if he left him without the wisdom and guidance only a parent could impart, whether the Troll liked it or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Author's note: Yay, I get slow again, but actually I have a few more chapters of this stored up, and it's almost completed, so be on the lookout for some more soon! It's gonna get sad for a while :C But then happy again! I promise! Enjoy!

**Chapter 5**

Two days passed after the fateful day Jyota and Enoki spent together without either speaking to the other. Consequently, the two days had also gone by without the Shaman saying a word to his adoptive Grandfather as well. He was content to whittle the hours skulking about the cabin feeling remorseful and angry at the same time, casting sidelong glances at his patient caretaker and opening his mouth countless times to talk but closing it just as quickly. Words failed to describe the turmoil he was feeling, and the time never seemed right.

Meanwhile Jyota imposed on another family of Tauren for the last few nights of the battalion's stay in respect for Inali and penitence for his actions. He felt guilty enough not only for being the one to entice Enoki out on the excursion, but for getting him in trouble, stealing his first kiss, and humiliating him all in one fell swoop. It was almost a blessed relief when morning came the day they were to leave, but he could not help but feel a little heartbroken to not see Enoki standing among the crowd of well-wishers. The old Tauren Shaman standing near the back found himself feeling much the same way as well.

Inali had been certain Enoki would at least sneak out to steal a secret goodbye out of Jyota, or Jyota would have been on the doorstep that morning to say goodbye to him. It almost made him feel a little guilty for his outburst and splitting them up when it was clear they had been immediately attracted to one another. He was ultimately Enoki's only parent, and after everything, after the training, the wisdom, the skills, seeing his child happy and teaching him about love as well as the earth was more important than anything. That morning there was no longer regret or darkness in his heart, he understood his feelings and he knew what he had to do. Inali had never trotted home faster in his old age, hoping against hope he could make it before the soldiers left and his chance to make it up to Enoki was gone for good.

Enoki lay curled on his side still in bed, fully aware the soldiers were leaving and doing his best to keep frustrated, disappointed tears at bay. He tightened his lanky arms around himself and squeezed his eyes shut as he staunchly reminded himself of his Grandfather's logic; he was too young, Jyota was a distraction, and there would be others once he had finished his training, but his heart and his brain continued their bloody altercation within him undeterred. No matter what he did it always came back to the lost day spent with the beautiful Hunter in the wild grasslands, his kiss, and his touch.

The Shaman moaned and rammed his head under his pillow to escape to his day dream again, but a frantic, harried knock at his door pierced his concentration and he sat bolt upright with a growl.

"De hell you want Grandda?" he barked a bit more cruelly than he intended.

Inali recoiled but his resolve remained firm and he leaned close to the closed door to speak respectfully through it.

"Forgive me for intruding Enoki but… The soldiers are about to leave and… I think we need to talk," he replied.

Enoki's emerald eyes glimmered sadly, his heart crumbled, and he drew his knees into his chest.

"Ain' nothin' tah talk about," he muttered, "Yeh jes' gonna tell me tah go be a good boy an' salute an' see off de troops dat defend me an' blah blah bl-"

"No, I'm not actually," the bull interjected quickly, "As a matter of fact I came here to implore you to come to say goodbye to them, to say goodbye to Jyota."

The Troll's ears pricked up with interest and suspicion and his heart skipped a hopeful beat.

"What…?" he breathed.

"Yes I… My boy, I'm… Sorry, for all this, this strange fight we're having. I am not entirely innocent in the matter myself and I acknowledge that. I was unwilling to concede that you really are nearly an adult with your own mind and heart and feelings, even after I told you as much. I… Didn't want to admit that I would have to let you go sooner or later, and Jyota merely reminded me that I will. I reacted badly, but I realized that… I really just want you to be happy, and this may be your last chance to see him for quite some time. I would hate myself forever if you missed it and resented me for causing it."

The door cracked open a few moments after he finished speaking, and Enoki's subdued face peered skittishly out.

"Yeh realleh mean dat Grandda…?" he asked.

"Of course I do, I mean every word. I feel awful that I've ruined whatever chance you might have gotten to spend with Jyota to get close, to start something," Inali sighed, "It was so obvious from the beginning how you both felt and I just-"

He was cut off mid-sentence as a red blur darted out and a pair of long, slender arms coiled tightly around his neck.

"Yah didn' ruin it Grandda, I did," the Troll whimpered apologetically into his shoulder, "It was dumb a' me tah jes' go off like dat, I didn' tink, I didn' care 'bout anytin' but what I wanted… I-If I'd jes' been honest…"

Enoki trailed off, and Inali returned the hug warmly.

"I'm glad to hear you say it. So, why don't we both agree we handled this badly, forgive each other and we'll talk more after Jyota has gone?"

The redhead nodded his agreement and pulled away with the light of joy and mischief back in his emerald eyes and long ears high with excitement.

"Yeh, yeh I tink dat be good, but… Yeh tink dey still be heah? Yeh don' tink dey woulda gone yet right? I mean de eldahs like tah babble on fah hours an' hours an' I know dey gonna give'em some goin' off ceremony or whatevah an I don' realleh tink dey'd appreciate it if I interrupted an' all," he rambled and stopped only when Inali whapped him lightly atop the head.

"And since when have you cared if you interrupted the elders or not?" the Tauren chuckled and pushed him toward the door, "Go swiftly Enoki, if the Spirits decree you should see Jyota again, he will still be there."

Enoki gave a curt, flushed and vigorous nod of agreement and turned tail out the door where paws instead of feet slapped the dirt and he sped away in a full gallop toward the road leading out of town.

Inali stayed behind with a satisfied smile on his face. Enoki could do far worse than a high ranking, trained military Hunter who walked solidly with the Spirits, he mused, drawing in a deep sigh. The simple breath suddenly caught in his chest, a wrench of white hot pain tore through him as he exhaled, and he doubled over coughing violently with his hands covering his mouth.

Inali crumpled to his knees as the uncontrollable fit of hacking wracked his entire form, wheezing for breath and straining to keep his eyes open. His world spun, vision misted over in white, and he slammed his fist to his rattling chest with the strongest healing spell he could manage to quell to agony. The attack gradually passed and once he was able to breathe again he was not shocked in the slightest to find his trembling hand covered in blood.

Back at the center of town, the lanky ghost wolf rose to the crooked form of a Troll once again at the back of the crowd and Enoki skittered hurriedly to the Tauren standing before him. He casually put his hands on two sets of shoulders and jumped to get a better view only to see the very back of the line of Orc soldiers astride a fierce pack of wolves as they rode single file out of town on the road toward Thunder Bluff. Panic washed over him and he sprinted, nearly tripping over his own feet, around the farewell gathering and reached a hand out toward the single figure perched atop a gleaming emerald raptor with a black panther in tow.

"WAIT! JYOTA! WAIT! WAIT JES' A SEC! PLEASE!"

Jyota, who had been looking rather solemn, eyes closed and ears drooped, felt a jolt through his frame at the familiar voice and gasped, hardly believing his ears.

"Enoki?" he murmured to himself as he turned over his shoulder hopefully.

The entire battalion heard the cries of their Troll brother's name and paused to turn and watch the young Shaman speeding toward them as well, casting the Hunter tusk filled, knowing smirks and urging him back. Jyota needed no encouragement, and he smiled radiantly down as the redhead finally reached him, gasping for breath and flushed to the tips of his ears.

"Jyota!" he panted and bent over to catch his breath for a moment, hands on his knees, "I-I was scared I mighta missed you alreadeh!"

Jyota laughed softly and a merry twinkle gleamed in his golden irises.

"Well, tah be honest I didn' tink you was comin'. I mean, aftah all dat, uh… Yanno," he guardedly answered behind a sheepish smile.

"Actually, it was Grandda dat told me tah come, he- We- It was jes' some misundahstandin' Jyota, it wasn' no one's fault, an' I…" Enoki began as he looked up into Jyota's eyes and reached up slowly to cup his cheek in his palm, "I didn' want yeh tah leave forevah not knowin' how I felt about you."

Jyota closed his eyes and took Enoki's hand in his own to press it against his cheek affectionately.

"Aw, kid I…" he began, paused, and snorted with amusement as he looked sincerely into Enoki's eyes, "I woulda been real disappointed too."

Enoki smiled brightly and lifted up onto his toes to twine his arms around Jyota's strong neck and bring him craning over the saddle.

"I know yah gotta leave, but… But you gotta come back dis way sometime, doncha?" he whispered, "I mean, dis can't be goodbye forevah right?"

Jyota hesitated to tell him what he knew was the truth of war and his rank. Something about Enoki's eager innocence convinced him he was strangely right. He felt suddenly hopeful that he would see that wild red mane and the jungle green eyes once more and butted their tusks together slowly and majestically.

"A'course it ain't!" the violet-haired Troll responded with confidence, "I got no doubt dat de Loa mean for us tah meet again. Mebbe someday when I gotta go tah Thundah Bluff again, or even, mebbe someday when you join us tah fight de good fight fah de Horde."

Enoki reluctantly let go of his neck, fingers slipping through the untamed Mohawk and smiling mischievously.

"Or if I come an' huntcha down," he added.

"Heh, stubborn, dat good, don' let dat part'a yah go mon!" Jyota proclaimed, Enoki's words sparking an idea in his mind, "But uh, I don' tink yah gonna be huntin' anyone down wit'out a little help…"

The Shaman watched bewildered as he turned and reached a hand cryptically into the bag strapped to his raptor's saddle. The Hunter thumbed his chin as he poked and pondered and after what seemed like eternity a wily grin spread over his lips and he gingerly withdrew the item he had been searching for. When Jyota turned back to him, clasped carefully in his weathered, three-fingered hands, was a large, gleaming leathery shelled egg.

Enoki could hardly believe his eyes as he reached out toward it and touched the speckled surface with care.

"Is dat… Is dat a…?" he began, having never actually seen what he knew in his heart the thing to be.

"Heh, yah mon, a real live raptor egg," Jyota answered merrily, "Met a Rogue a while back wit de prettiest female mount I evah saw! She liked de look a' my boy ovah here, an' was nice enough tah split de eggs wit me when dey came. I was gonna see if I could make a profit wit'em while we was in Thundah Bluff, but I can't tink of a bettah home fah one'a 'em den here wit' you."

It was a gift so exquisite it was almost magical, like the legendary artifacts handed down to heroes in the tribal Tauren legends he listened to enraptured even in his teens. Enoki could barely bring himself to reach out and accept it and looked up to Jyota, torn.

"You realleh wanna be givin' dis tah me? I can' accept dat! Dese be worth a ton of gold!" he protested, though his emerald eyes darted back to the egg greedily.

"Enoki, I mean what I say, an' I mean I want you tah have dis. I want you tah take care'a it, tah raise it into de swiftest mount on de plains… An' someday I want you tah saddle it up, and ride it all ovah de world and den straight back into my arms," Jyota whispered as he finally took Enoki by the wrist and pressed the precious egg into his palms.

Spellbound, Enoki's hands cradled the warm shell pulsing with strong, ferocious life inside and he looked back up into the fearless golden eyes once more. Nothing more was said, nothing but an intense moment of longing consumed them both as Enoki swooped in to crush his lips firmly to the Hunter's. Despite the cackles and jeers from the Orcs ahead of him, Jyota returned the kiss with delight, savoring and cherishing it.

"Thank you, Jyota," Enoki finally murmured against his lips, tusks brushing smoothly.

"Don' mention it, Sparky," he affectionately replied.

Enoki rolled his eyes as he reluctantly pulled away and hugged his gift to his chest.

"I… I'll nevah forget you," he affirmed.

Jyota laughed and gave the Shaman a crooked, charming salute.

"Ain' many people meet ol' Jyota dat forget him mon! But duty be duty, an' de Spirits watch ovah us both until we meet again," he said as he took up his reins and reeled his raptor back onto the road.

"Until we meet again…" Enoki repeated.

Jyota raised a hand in casual farewell as his mount turned and trotted along the road to catch up with the others. The Orcs snickered and punched playfully at him as they fell back into their ordered rank and file, but Jyota still turned over his shoulder to gaze one last time at the fiery, redheaded Shaman watching him leave until he was but a speck on the horizon.

Enoki stayed much longer than even that, clutching his egg to keep it warm and letting the soothing plains' winds toss his long ponytail around his stone still form. His keen eyes gazed unflinching over the vast expanse of Mulgore before him where the hills rambled on to blue eternity to touch the golden horizon on lands unknown. He had seen the horizon every day of his life, but as he looked on for the first time it beckoned him with silent seductive whispers of adventure and glory. The land spoke to him more clearly than it ever had in the spiritual way Inali had tried and failed to explain, told him scant, fleeting hints of the invisible paradise where the sun touched the earth and tugged him with enticing brushes against his flushed skin.

Against a rush of wind he was astride a swift coursing raptor riding through the wilds of a far away land. He rode through jungles and deserts, leapt over gushing streams and plowed through snow in mountains so high he could see all of Azeroth as his mind envisioned it. The blue sky was an endless canvas to Enoki's glistening emerald eyes, a treasure map painted in rich unreal colors he had only to follow to fill the void in his chest he never even knew was there.

The heavy hand that closed firmly over his shoulder was the only thing that stopped him.

A rough squeak flew from his lips and his limbs flailed, nearly dropping the egg as he turned to the hulking form of his grandfather beside him.

"JEEZ Grandda yeh scared me half tah death!" he wheezed with a smile on his face.

Inali, looking tired and drawn but warm and loving as always, managed a weary chuckle.

"So I see. Where were you just now young one? You looked about a thousand miles away."

Enoki looked down to the path to see a small trail of his two-toed footprints he hadn't known he made along the road and smirked distantly.

"I dunno, I kinda think I mighta been," he mused as he looked back to the horizon.

Inali ruffled his hair with a smile and pulled him under his heavy, protective arm to guide the Troll back home.

"Whatever for? I was beginning to get a little worried when you didn't come home right away," said the Tauren.

"There so much a'de world I ain' seen Grandda," Enoki continued as he walked, "I watched Jyota go off wit' de troops an' I jes got tah thinkin' about… About where de sun was touchin' dat I couldn't see. An' de jungle where my people come from, an' de deserts an' de mountains an' de ocean!"

Inali had known those words were coming and he rubbed his ward's shoulder consolingly as he let him ramble.

"I always knew you had a touch of wanderlust in you, my boy. For you were always as bright and as fleeting as the sun, and I knew you would someday long to rise on one horizon and set on another…" he mused.

Enoki's heavy brow raised, his ears lifted, and he laughed at the flowery worded notion easily.

"De hell you talkin' about Grandda? I ain' goin' nowhere! I mean yeh mebbe someday we can go see some places, travel togeddah, but I ain' gonna go runnin' off or nothin'!" he joked, "I gonna stay right here wit' you. Plus look! Jyota gave me dis egg, I gonna hatch a raptor a'my own! So den I don' gotta ride on de back'a yah kodo like a little whelp no mo'!"

The old bull was comforted by Enoki's reassurance and charmed with his enthusiasm, but the wheels had already been set in motion and his fate irrevocably charted. It was enough for him to know his grandson loved him enough to say such kind things and to think to stay with him.

"Oh, is that what that is? What a wonderful gift!" he exclaimed as he laid a caring hand on the formidable shell, "That was extremely generous of him, but for now, the only traveling we're going to be doing is to our tree. We've missed several days of training for this boondoggle and I'm terribly afraid you might already be rusting!"

Enoki's lips curled into a vicious grin and he crouched with his hands glowing white already.

"Oh yeh think I gonna forget everyt'in in jes a couple days? I'll show yeh Grandda! Last one dere a rotten egg!" he hollered just before his body shrank into a lean, powerful wolf and he took off like a spirit across the plain with his egg carefully cradled in his mouth.

The old Shaman master followed after him slowly, content to let old routines continue and let Enoki have his private race to their training ground. Time changed all things, that he knew with certainty, but for knowing that fact it allowed him to fully enjoy things the way they were while fate allowed it. For that day, Enoki was still his beloved grandson vanishing before his old, failing eyes, and when he arrived he would be still waiting under the boughs of the ancient, gnarled tree with his usual infectious laughter and mischief in his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hahahah

Author's Note: Hahahah! I am so slow and retarded in writing yes I know ..! And this has actually been complete for about a million years but I sat on it because I'm cruel 8D I have enough written after it to feel comfy posting again :x I had to be maid of honor in a wedding and we replaced the floors in my house which took a good 2 weeks of me huddling in various rooms to avoid workmen, that's my excuse ;;

A-Anyway don't hurt me for this chapter XD;;

Chapter 6

The months passed slowly; spring turned into summer, summer turned to fall, and as winter in Mulgore loomed the memory of the brief visit of the Horde battalion had faded to a mere ghost to all but one resident of Aykwani. While the days marched by, Enoki only ached more. He would lie amongst the grass for hours miles from home in the dimming autumn light as the few trees that dotted the plains turned gold, gazing at the sky and thinking of Jyota.

He wondered where he was, what he was doing, if he ever even thought of the wide-eyed, eager Shaman he met on a random visit to a tiny Tauren town and if by some, mystical chance they just so happened to be looking up at the same cloud at that very moment. There was an excruciating yearning deep in his soul to pack all his worldly possessions to venture out and search the world for the beautiful Hunter, seeing everything there was to see and finding his secret love waiting for him at the end of his journey just like Jyota had foretold. His words lived on like legend in his heart; a legend that grew more enigmatic and magical as it smoldered and consumed his being in the flames of passion.

A small harbinger of Jyota's tale came to pass one breezy fall day when the altogether dormant raptor egg suddenly sprang to life. Inali and Enoki had watched in rapture as the tiny creature struggled from the shell inch by inch, and when the keen reptilian eyes had opened the first thing they gazed upon was his master's smiling face. Imprinted and enraptured, the unsteady, scaly little thing had taken to the Troll like a mother and Enoki had lovingly dubbed him Zynn.

Zynn had hatched a wan, sunset shade of orange with pale turquoise streaks, but as he grew and his scales hardened they deepened into a rich ruby hue. Enoki doted on him and the duo became immediately inseparable, hunting together on the plains and spending every waking moment preparing for the day Enoki could mount him and feel at last like a true Darkspear Troll.

The change had not gone unnoticed by Inali either. Though he could feel his body slowly grow weaker, his magic dimmed with each passing day, and his dreams were filled with council from spirits long passed to the Earthmother, his routine with his ward continued. The lessons, however, little by little and unobserved by Enoki began to grow shorter as his stamina waned.

When that happened, Enoki spent more and more time away from home with his raptor hatchling, and often Inali caught him rigidly going through the combat moves Jyota had taught him like a sacred ritual instead of his Shamanism. The old bull felt neither resentment nor anger toward it but in its stead a staunch pride; for Enoki was finally acting and looking like a man aged from a careless little boy. He had purpose and determination in his spirit for the first time since he had sat him down to tell him he even had powers over nature. Even though restlessness consumed him and he looked more like a caged feral wolf than a Shaman's apprentice, Enoki sat through every lesson the master had to give with patience and an open mind.

Enoki learned to heal, learned to summon the lightning from the air and the water from the land to empower him, and he learned to master the alliance of the stones beneath his feet and the devastating cold of frost. There was but one last important aspect of Shamanism Inali had yet to teach him, but when the cold, grey morning when he brought out his beloved totems finally came his shaking hands could barely lift the small leather pouch he kept them in. The light wooden idols felt like boulders, and the effort of stooping down to retrieve them cinched his chest and rattled his thin breath in his lungs. Inali spent several dizzy, disoriented minutes slumped against his trunk before Enoki finally came to look for him and still needed the Troll's worried assistance to get up.

For the first time in the eleven years he had spent raising his boy, no matter how valiantly he struggled, Inali failed to summon the strength to go to their tree. It was with a heavy heart weighed with sorrow as well as grim reality that he dismissed his ward and cancelled the lesson for the day.

Enoki was immediately overcome with a dark, crushing cloud of disturbed foreboding. That had never once happened before, rain or shine, sickness or health, holiday or festival, each day had seen them beneath the tree and practicing the magics of Shamanism. The Troll skittered about worriedly, wrapping his grandfather in blankets and clumsily making his favorite tea in private hopes he was testing him or that somehow he could coax the vitality out of him.

Inali knew better and insistently ushered Enoki outside to take Zynn for a hunt or to practice his combat moves instead.

"A-Are yeh realleh sure Grannda?" Enoki asked, flattened over the arm of Inali's favorite chair where he rested with his ears pinned back to his skull.

The bull's hand found his wild red hair and stroked it back with weak affection.

"Of course I am, no reason for you to be cooped up inside all day as well. It will pass, I'm not getting any younger after all, and we'll just double our lesson tomorrow, alright?"

Emerald eyes flicked skittishly up to him, and the pierced ears slowly swiveled back to erect.

"But-"

"No buts," Inali interjected, tapping Enoki's hooked nose, "I don't want you pitter pattering around the house today. Go outside, take Zynn, and do what you please, you're a man now, and you have the makings of a truly great Shaman. I trust that you can spend a day on your own and make the most of it."

The pointed look of hinting, skillfully feigned as it was, was enough to convince Enoki that perhaps this was a test of his abilities and he stood with cautious resolve.

"I see… Right right! Make de most a' my day! I get it!" he began with a flicker of a smirk, "Alrigh' den, I'll be back later Grandda! An' I'll tell yah ALL about what I did! Hehe!"

"Yes yes go, I'll have dinner ready when you get back," Inali said, waving his hand dismissively.

Finally satisfied enough to leave; Enoki darted in for a quick hug before he trotted to his bedroom, changed into a warmer outfit with a cloak for the rainy weather, plucked up Zynn from his hay nest and bounded out the door.

Inali was left in the steely darkness of the cabin, shivering beneath his blanket and struggling to keep his breathing even. He had tried to hide his degenerating health from his beloved charge for as long as he could, but the darkness loomed all around him and the strength to fight it eluded his desperate grasp. It was best Enoki think he was testing him then, for him to go out into the beauty of nature with hopes and dreams rather than attend his bedside like a hospital matron, he thought. He wanted his last days with Enoki to be filled with him as he always was, full of energy and blind enthusiasm, lusting for life and adventure and brimming with trouble.

Dreams overtook him before he was even aware his body was succumbing to exhaustion, the crackling morning fire dimmed, and the light slowly went out. The next thing he knew it was late in the afternoon, and he was being rudely awakened by a sharp, commanding pounding at his door.

Inali jerked up from his chair with a wheeze and a strangled gasp for air, eyes blurry and dazed. The rapping continued amidst the sound of rain, the sleep cleared from his mind, and the Shaman realized he knew exactly what was going on. Enoki and his future after he had come of age was rapidly becoming the main subject of interest and conversation among the elders of the village. With his frequent, prolonged absences they quite often sat around his Grandfather's table to discuss his talents and his training while his keen ears and curious disposition were far from overhearing. Remembering that, Inali fully expected what awaited him after struggling out of his chair.

Cygnus Ashmane, leader of Aykwani village and revered Druid, stood on his doorstep looking pinched and solemn as ever beneath his ceremonial wolf pelt mantle. He held his gnarled, feathered staff in his hands to lean upon and regarded the equally aged bull with appraising blue eyes.

"Hail, Inali," he said curtly as he edged his way inside.

"Hail, Cygnus, to what do I owe the pleasure today?" Inali replied, clearing his rattling throat and taking the wet skin from the other to hang on a peg by the door.

The white furred Bull shook the rainwater from his family namesake gray mane and snorted as the ring in his nose jangled back into place.

"Same thing as usual," Cygnus replied and presumptively took his usual chair at the table in front of the fireplace, "Though today I regret to say I am here with some more grave tidings."

Inali tightened the brightly colored woven blanket around him and nodded as he lowered his weary bulk into the chair across from him.

"Enoki, of course, but what news could be grave of him? He hasn't gotten himself in trouble has he?"

"No, nothing of the sort," the elder assured him, folding his hands neatly on the table as he considered his words, "I… How shall I begin…?"

"Just say your peace Cygnus, we are both old men and have little time for formalities," Inali gently urged.

"Very well then," the Druid stated, "I have come here, because I am concerned for Enoki's future. You may be adept at fooling him, but the rest of us who are as old as you and have known you for longer know far better. You are not long for this world Inali, and what is to become of the Troll once you are gone?"

Facing mortality was something far too easy to ignore, especially raising vivacious and rambunctious Enoki. Inali had not once thought of what he would do once he was gone, but the answer was still swift on his lips.

"What other than he will remain here in this home, and grow to be a valuable asset to our village?" he retorted brusquely.

Cygnus pursed his lips, silent, considering his words.

"Inali… We all see his talent, we all know he brings liveliness and spirit to our sleepy little village, but there still remains the simple fact that he is a Troll. As much as I would love to keep him here, everyone would, we all feel it would probably be best for him to find a place with his own people. A place where when he is of venerable age he can hold a proper position in the tribe, where he can worship his Gods and impart wisdom to the young whelps. And among Trolls he can-"

"Cease this ridiculous prattling right now, Cygnus," Inali snapped suddenly and startled the druid soundly out of his well rehearsed proposal.

"Excuse me?"

"I said stop it, you're talking about my grandson as if he were still some misbehaved child to be foisted upon whatever caretaker that would still tolerate him! He is not, he is far from it. Enoki is a man now. He has grown exponentially the past few months, and he does not need to be looked after any longer. When I am gone, he will make his choice of where he wants to be and that is where he will stay. Aykwani has been his home for nearly as long as he can remember and if this is where he chooses to live out his days, so be it!" Inali said, rising to his hooves, tail whipping angrily behind him.

"Who are you to tell him where he belongs? Who are you to tell anyone where they belong? I truly believe your intentions are good, but you are sorely misguided. The spirits are strong with my boy and the day I die he will have their guidance! Yes, he will be great, he will be strong, and he will find himself..! Like a wolf on the plains, even if he must run, must howl, must wander for a lifetime, he will find his pack… E-Enoki will… Enoki will find…"

The words died in his throat. A ghostly, incorporeal hand wrapped around it and banished all strength from his body, wrung the light from his eyes and froze his blood. The great form of the Shaman master wavered and a grey curtain fell before his eyes that dimmed the light on the white blur of Cygnus leaping to his hooves to catch him as he fell. He saw his lips moving, repeating his name, saw his head move to shout to his attendants standing just outside the door, but his ears were filled with the whispers of the spirits lingering close by and his vision slowly faded to black.

"_Enoki will find for himself where he belongs…_"

A cold wind whipped across the plains and parted the bleak sea of showering thunderheads rolling across the strata. The rain lightened and a few meek, brave rays of light pierced through the darkness like a golden trident cast from the heavens to the tranquil greenery below. Enoki, perched atop the tall hill where Jyota had kissed him once more, sat in the wet grass on his cloak with his legs crossed, elbows propped on his knees and chin in his palms. His eyes watched the morphing sky but his mind was haunted by the strangely bleak melancholy of the earth.

A song, almost a dirge flowed through his spirit surrounded by quiet and nature in words and melodies he failed to comprehend. It was not so much a song but a feeling, a vibration in his very being that resonated something untouched and unknown within him. He closed his eyes, his ears quivered in the wind while he strained to listen and understand. A distant boom of thunder and Zynn's pitiful chittering beside him rang louder.

The little raptor paced back and forth in front of a prairie dog hole hunting the bold inhabitant popping out to taunt him and just as quickly vanishing. Distracted, Enoki turned his head and smiled at his beloved pet diving in for the kill and missing, bumping his stubby little muzzle into the dirt and ricocheting back with frustrated tail lashing.

"Heheh, keep at it mon! You'll get'im," he chuckled.

His short-lived mirth dissolved into a sigh and he turned his eyes back to the strata. Beneath the heavens he sat in the rippling emerald earth like a single terrestrial star; infinitesimal, lost, and caught between the two unbounded planes. Nothing made sense to him anymore. His heart longed for so many things he felt it could be torn in every direction. He longed for Jyota, he ached to leave Mulgore, to meet others of his own kind and taste victory upon the field of battle, but at the same time he was terrified. A nagging voice deep within him had constantly told him to stay, to remain with his grandfather and finish his training. He knew it was the right thing to do, but ignoring it proved to be no less than agony for his robust young soul.

"Jyota…" Enoki moaned, closed his eyes and buried his forehead into his knees, "I miss you…"

There was a smooth, scaly bump against his hand accompanied with Zynn's worried whistles and clicks and he stroked the raptor with a tiny, comforted smile.

"T'anks buddy, you gotta grow up fast fah me so we can get de hell outta dis place, okay? Someday we'll get outta here…"

Zynn tilted his head, drawn to his master's voice with curious incomprehension and blinking his golden yellow reptilian eyes. He leaned into the absent minded petting from the warm three-fingered hand when a sound in the distance caught his ears and his head jutted up to attention. Startled, Enoki jerked as well, and turned to match his sight with the raptor's.

"What? What is it Zynn? Whatcha hear?" he asked, fearing plains predators or worse, a rogue Alliance battalion.

Enoki listened intently. Instead of the march of feet or the ravenous howls of hungry coyotes, the wind carried a frantic call of his name. Concerned, he scooped Zynn into his arms and rose to peer down the hill where a soaked Tauren Woman atop a miserable Kodo beast was waiting and hollering.

"ENOKI!" the messenger bellowed at the top of her lungs when she finally got the Troll's attention, "Enoki come quick! It's your grandfather! He's taken ill! You have to come back immediately!"

All thoughts in his head vanished, the song of the earth disappeared with them and a veil of darkness shrouded his sight. His blood froze, his heart stopped and the world around him shifted dizzily. His limbs were numb and loose, unfeeling as he sailed down the hill, water sprayed from the grass beneath his thundering feet and his eyes burned hot with tears that did not fall. The woman deftly grabbed his outstretched hand, hauled him behind her on the mount, and snapped the reins to gallop back to Aykwani as fast as the creature could carry them.

Raw terror sealed his lips and paralyzed his tongue on the ride back though his mind howled and screamed for answers and all he could do was cling to the Tauren's waist and tremble. He tried to think of it as nothing serious, but his grandfather had never been sick a single day, and for a messenger to be sent to fetch him he knew deep in his soul it was far more grave than he dared imagine. The line of black swathed Tauren standing outside his home when he arrived was the dark, uncontestable sign he was deathly wrong.

Enoki sprang past them and slammed through the door, deposited an unhappy Zynn on the floor by the fire and exploded into his grandfather's room with a strangled cry.

"GRANDDA!"

Cygnus stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest solemnly and regarded the Troll with a mixture of relief and sorrow. Various healers under his command crowded behind him and obscured the view of their patient in bed which Enoki heedlessly plowed through to Inali's side.

The ancient shaman lay still against the pillows, chest heaving erratically and once proud, hulking form withered and shrunken under the thick quilts. His previously rich brown pelt, though long grayed and wiry with age, was markedly wan and matted, gnarled hands clutching at his chest in pain even in his half sleep.

Enoki could scarcely believe the sight, lovingly deceived for so long it was abrupt and viscerally disturbing. Even taking his icy hand in his own, it took him several moments to even believe it was Inali lying in bed with the stark pall of death looming above him.

"Grandda…?" he repeated meekly at length, voice cracking with tears.

Inali stirred at last, lips parting for a hoarse, breathless whisper of his name as his eyes slowly fluttered open.

"E-Enoki…? Enoki… My boy…?" he ventured, glazed eyes searching until they fell upon the distinct teal and crimson blur.

A weak smile spread across his sunken face and he reached up to cup the Troll's cheek in his palm lovingly.

"You came back…"

Enoki grit his teeth and laughed a quiet, broken snicker to keep the tears at bay.

"C-Course' I did! Dey came an' told me yeh taken ill an' I… I came home… G-Grandda what's goin' on? What happened? Y-Yeh was fine yestahday! I don' get it!" he protested.

Inali's hand fell from Enoki's cheek and limply hit the bedding as he smiled and closed his eyes once more.

"Oh… Enoki, that… Was for us both. I have felt this for quite some time, but selfishly… S-Selfishly, I kept it to myself. I didn't want our last days together to be filled with… Sorrow… I wanted to live without the specter of death haunting us. I wanted you to be as joyful as ever… For you, and for myself. I adore the strong, confident and vivacious man you've grown up to be Enoki… I want to remember you this way, and I wanted you to remember me as I always was to you…" he whispered.

"No…" Enoki hissed between his teeth, gripping Inali's hand and pressing his forehead into his knuckles, "No Grandda don' talk like dat please… Please yeh ain' goin' nowhere! Yeh gonna be fine, it still gonna be like dat! I-I gonna get intah trouble, an' I gonna beatcha tah de tree tomorrow mornin' jes like I always do! Dis ain' de end! It don' feel like de end!"

He sniffed and rubbed the tears bravely from his eyes, smiled and nuzzled Inali's hand. For just a while longer he could ignore the realization he knew all along what the earth was trying to tell him; that the Earthmother was glad to have one of her own back home.

Inali stroked Enoki's trembling hands with his thumb and carded his other hand into his red hair. A pointed look to Cygnus told him it was time to leave and take his healers with him. There was nothing left for them to do but wait.

The majestic white bull nodded soberly to his old friend, gave a sweeping bow of respect and farewell and finally turned to leave. The rest of the Tauren filed out of the room to wait in the main living quarters starting a song of mourning, leaving grandfather and ward alone with the sound of the fire, the wind and the rain.

Inali listened for a moment, waiting, and a clap of thunder in the distance answered him, a serene and wise smile on his lips.

"Do you hear that Enoki…?" he asked once he was sure Cygnus and the others were gone.

The Troll's ears stood up and he lifted his head slightly while his heavy brow knitted and long nose leaked over his upper lip.

"Eh…? Hear what? I-It jes de thundah, Grandda," he replied, rubbing under his nose with his wrist, "Yeh oughta be restin', if yah sick enough tah hallucinate about dyin'…"

"Thunder… Lightning… Nature's most devastating gift given only to the Earthmother's Shaman who deserve it," undeterred, Inali continued, "It… Was the first thing I taught you, the first thing I learned… I've taught you healing, of the wind, the, water, the earth and the flame… You know… All you need to know… There… Is but one last thing I must impart to you before it is too late…"

"N-No Grandda enough'a dat crazy talk… Y-yah gonna keep teachin' me, h-hehe… I-I don' know shit realleh!" Enoki rebuked him with ever faltering conviction.

"Enoki… Please listen to me, I don't have much time left and I… I need to tell you something important… I need you to listen and listen carefully. Consider… Consider it our final lesson, do this for me…" Inali rasped, a plaintive pleading in his eyes.

Enoki fell silent against the roll of thunder with his ears pinned low to his head, and finally nodded.

"Good boy. N-Now, I want you to go to my trunk, open it, and on the top there is a small satchel… Bring it to me," the ailing Tauren instructed.

Without a word the redhead obeyed and leapt to the painted wooden trunk so memorable to him as a constant facet of his grandfather's chambers. The lid gave way easily with the familiar squeak of old metal hinges and inside resting atop Inali's old ceremonial feathered garments, charms and scrolls was the beautifully crafted pouch. Feathers and bone beads decorated the trim, and the fine old leather was tooled and dyed with an intricate crest of tribal carvings of the four elements twisting and blending into one another in an endless circle. Such was its beauty and subtle radiance of power and command Enoki held it and stared for a moment, awestruck.

"What is dis?" he asked reverently as he stood and brought it back to Inali's side.

Inali smiled mystically and took his bag against his chest to wrench it open with shaking hands.

"These… Were mine, long ago when I was a young bull defending our homeland. It served me well then, and when I was older, wiser, and the Tauren and the Orcs became friends to form the mighty union of the Horde. They are the essential tools of any Shaman, and though… Th-Though ordinarily it would be up to you to carve your own, to speak with the spirits themselves and get their blessings, I pass them on to you in hopes… In hopes that you will find on your own what they mean to you," he said, and reached into the bag.

Icy fingers painstakingly grasped at the familiar idols and finally, one by one drew out four intricately carved totems with Inali naming each of them as he laid them on his quilt.

"Earth… Air… Fire… And Water… With these… You will be able to summon the totems, a direct conduit between us and the omnipotent forces of nature. With these… You can be more powerful than you even imagined until now…"

Enoki watched, but felt as if his spirit instead floated above his body watching and imagining the passing on of sacred relics from mentor to ward like a campfire hero story. There was not a shred in his soul that believed he deserved such a treasure and his hands remained rigidly clenched on his lap.

"Your totems…?" managed the Troll after a long, tense silence, "Grandda I can' take dose… Like yah said, yah gotta carve 'em yahself, a-an' go an' face de elements on yah own! A-An' I dunno how tah get de elemental spirits tah talk tah me! Y-Yeh gotta stay an' teach me! Yeh gotta tell me how! Yeh gotta- Yeh gotta-!"

His vision blurred and his voice grated against the grit of tears in his throat.

"Grandda yeh can't go!"

Tears streaked down Inali's cheeks with Enoki but he smiled on and felt for the quivering teal hand at his side.

"Do not cry, little one, do not mourn for me… My time on the earth has been long and happy, and you have made it all the better, but… It is over now. I know in my heart… Deep inside me… Even though I won't be with you… You will continue to grow, and to learn, and you will always… Always… Make me proud…" he breathed.

"Grandda…" Enoki croaked and threw himself over his chest, "Grandda I nevah said thank you. Fah takin' care'a me… Fah teachin' me how tah… How tah fight, how tah live, how tah be a good man… Fah lovin' me…"

Warm and tender arms encircled his wiry form one last time and held him close.

"I need no thanks… Seeing you grow up to be strong, happy, brave… Seeing that you listened to me… That's all the thanks I need…"

A sob tore through the Troll's chest and the valiant crusade against his sorrow was lost.

"I love you, Grandda…"

"And I love you, Enoki. Never lose your fire, never deny your spirit or your courage… And I… I will watch over you always…" came the distant reply.

Enoki shook his head, and nothing more needed to be said. The two lay together in the hush of the moment as Inali's strength failed and he drifted to welcome content repose. Day succumbed to night in the rolling veil of the quiet storm and Inali slept with the Troll curled close against him. He dreamt, not of his ancestors or his Gods, but of his past instead, guided toward eternal slumber with visions of his youth, his heroics, and at last of his ward. More vividly than anything he relived in poignant, lush detail his years with the brilliant young Shaman he had been honored to call apprentice and grandson.

As the dawn defiantly broke through the dark clouds Inali was coaxed awake by a curtain of sparkling golden light sharply bent through his window and over his bed. The room soared into brightness, and Enoki's curled form was still beside him crooked from chair onto the bed with his arms crossed and ears pinned back. His fiery red hair shone with a crimson halo of light and his tearstained and tattooed cheeks glistened. He slept lightly, but he was far from at peace, and the moment he felt his Grandfather stir and the warmth return to the room he jerked upright.

"Grandda?" he squeaked sleepily.

A wistful sigh exited Inali's lips and he struggled to turn to the window.

"Enoki… Is it… Is it dawn? Is the sun up…?" he asked, voice weak and barely above a whisper.

Enoki managed a tearful smile, not even needing to look at the window. The light streamed in, brilliant and inviting as it danced across the old Tauren's form.

"Yeah… Yeah de sun up," he answered gently.

Inali seemed to relax and the sun cast playful ripples over his fading body. It warmed and soothed him as the gold flared into a dazzling white, clear and radiant even to his ancient eyes. Around them village slept breathless in the dawn save for the twittering herald of the birds singing a triumphant chorus and the wind tossing the haunting chimes hung outside the cabin.

"Good…" Inali whispered, "I wanted… I wanted to see the sun…"

His smile grew brighter as the pain melted from his olden bones and a giddy weightlessness took its place. A laugh, melodious joyful and true, found its place in his final breaths.

"I wanted… To go in the dawn. I wanted… To leave the sunset of life, in the sunrise."

Enoki giggled along with him, unable to help the fond and tearful if brief smile.

"Yeh dat sound like you. Likin' bein' jes a little different. Gotta be… Tah put up wit a handful like me… An' I… Nevah… I don'… I dunno.. What… What I gonna do wit'out you, Grandda…?" he asked timidly.

Enoki's tiny voice seemed miles away and the light gleamed brighter than any sun in his eyes. It swelled and consumed the teal figure crouched beside him, washed away his home and the plains until it was existence itself. Time stretched to a small eternity without reason, without meaning and with but precious few moments left he spoke at last.

"Anything you like… Enoki," Inali breathed with a radiant smile, even as his eyes slowly closed, "You can do anything. You can follow the sun, follow your heart, listen to the earth and the spirits and see and know anything you desire. Anything at all… Find love, find adventure, find destiny… Live… Above all else… Live…"

Strength filled the loving final words on his lips emboldened by his fleeting, freed spirit and his fingers unwound from Enoki's desperate grip. His hand fell to the bed, his lids finally closed, and the last flicker of light dimmed and went out.

"I will… Grandda. I promise I will!" Enoki hurriedly swore with a smile even while Inali's chest quietly stilled, "Grandda I won' give up! I won'! Grandda I-! G-Grandda?"

He reached for his withered hand once more and grasped it tight. No longer did the pleasant thrum of magic pulse through the wise palm that had seen so many years of strife and battle. Dimming ever swiftly was the warmth that stroked him to sleep each restless night in his new home in Mulgore, tended to his wounds from play and training, and reassured him when all hope seemed lost. Gone, was the noble and loving spirit of his grandfather.

"Grandda…?" he ventured again, answered only by the mournful chimes outside the window.

A gentle nudge of his arm proved futile, tears spilled fast and furious as the beating of birds' wings high above, and while dawn continued the eternal march through the mottled blue sky, Enoki wept.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: WHEW

Author's note: WHEW! Well I am in such a good mood from being at BlizzCon the past 2 days, I decided I would post this up and get working on more! : D! Sort of a boring transitional chapter I know :C But hey, work is going on chapter 8, when we'll see a familiar face again u Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 7

Dawn turned to day, the storm passed, and the crisply sunny weather returned to the emerald plains. The sun shone brave and golden down on the tiny village where a Troll cried and no ghost wolf tore through the center of town chased by an old Shaman master. Nature itself held its breath in mourning and stillness washed over the landscape. That alone was the sign of what had transpired that final dawn. That alone meant Aykwani could never be the same.

To the young man Inali left behind it all seemed a horrible blur. Living was empty, hollow; purposeless. There was no future he could see and his past felt as if it had suddenly vanished. There was no motion, no guidance, nothing to grasp at and hold on to, and for the first time in his life Enoki felt truly alone. Even with Cygnus' kind care as he had promised Inali, as well as meals and words of comfort from scores of other worried villagers the cabin felt desolate and abandoned without his grandfather.

Making it through the days of preparation for the funeral was nothing short of torture as well. He could barely feed himself much less participate in the ceremonial wrapping and embalming of Inali's body. Remembering his final words to him gave him the strength to knuckle down and organize his final rites, but it was arduous and agonizing beyond anything he had ever endured. When the day of the funeral finally arrived it was a guilty brand of reprieve.

As if in honor of him Mulgore was bright, warm and beautiful just as the day Inali passed away. The sound of the Tauren singing their mourning songs to the heavens carried crystal clear on coursing winds, the drums, chimes, and ritual rattles blended together in sweet, loving farewell, and the clomping of hooves against the Earth shook it awake. The verdant meadows came alive with glowing pollens and dancing golden rays of light, the clouds moved with timeless purpose across the never ending strata, and as Enoki followed dutifully behind the pallbearers hefting the ceremonial carriage he could feel a comforting presence all around him. A small smile worked its way onto his lips and he wiped the tears from his cheeks with a silent thanks to his grandfather as they spiraled up the long path to the funereal mesa.

There, among the high towers of platforms filled with the bodies of Tauren ancestry long passed and offered up to the Gods in the sky, Cygnus stood before his village as he bid his comrade goodbye and good journey in the afterlife. The old druid pontificated fondly about his friend before he finally gave over to the redheaded Troll listening with ears drooped and tears sliding down his face but smiling ever brighter.

Enoki spoke briefly but only out of duty as Inali's only technical family. He had tried valiantly to write an epic, sweeping eulogy that would show his village and the Gods themselves what a hero Inali was. Nothing he said seemed to him to even honor his grandfather. No words his mind could conjure could encompass the feelings in his heart or the impact on his life the old bull selflessly offered him. Even still, his tears were kept at bay for his final ineloquent wishes of him, and he smiled crookedly all the while just for him. He was how Inali wanted to remember him, smiling, laughing, and even soliciting tearful chuckles from the crowd. That was how he honored the memory of his only guardian, and Enoki stepped down into Cygnus's waiting embrace feeling slightly less alone.

Inali's celebrated form was finally raised onto the highest platform closest to the sun and the village erupted into mourning song. Enoki danced and sang with them at the top of his lungs, even while flubbing the Taurahe lyrics Inali had taught him in futile. That mattered naught, his voice sang louder than all of them and was the only one to touch the clouds skirting the heavens. The ceremony ended, and the funeral made the long trek back to the village for the traditional feast that always followed. The day set with Enoki and the rest of them feeling strengthened by the old Shaman's spiritual presence and protected with him among their blessed ancestors.

For Enoki, however, life after Inali's final rites proved to be the tragically poetic embodiment of tedium. There were no more lessons to attend, no more grandfather to run errands for, and no spirit or will to practice even the moves that reminded him of Jyota. The Troll spent his days in the cabin sprawled across his bed or aimlessly wandering the outskirts of Aykwani to ensure Zynn got his meals. Each day melded into the next in a growing cycle of monotony and lonesomeness that opened a black void which threatened to swallow him in and stole the light of mischief and spirit from his emerald eyes.

Valiantly though he tried to hide it, smiling and laughing with whomever inquired as to his wellbeing, there was one denizen of the Tauren community astute enough to realize the Troll was not himself. So one blustery, cold afternoon, Cygnus stalked slowly just along the river that nourished their village, waiting for the redheaded Troll to return. The druid had not long to wait, for return he did, a drooping, sleepy Zynn in his arms and his wild-maned head hung in private sorrow. Cygnus smiled easily and held a hand out for the young man.

"Hail, Enoki…" he said.

Startled, the Troll's head jerked up with a gasp and he squeezed his raptor a bit too tightly.

"Cygnus! Sir!" he yelped, "S-Sorry mon, didn't see you dere!"

The Tauren laid a sturdy hand on his shoulder while he offered a comforting chuckle.

"It's alright, I was just hoping to catch you out here so I could talk to you in private," he answered.

Enoki's long ears drooped and he looked pointedly at the ground. That very opening line was the precursor to the routine of reassurance he had become all too accustomed to.

"Ah, you don't gotta check up on Enoki, sir," he interjected, "He be fine, he be getting' on jes fine. Jes doin' what Grandda told me."

Cygnus's ears flicked and he cocked his head to the side.

"You may be fooling everyone else, but I can see you are suffering greatly," he whispered, "I can see that the light that was Enoki is gone…"

Enoki turned wet, skittish eyes up to the leader of his home and just as swiftly ducked his head again with his arms tightening around Zynn.

"I tryin' tah do what he said…" he finally admitted, "But it so hard. I-I dunno what tah do wit myself. Ain' no up an ain' no down witout Grandda. It like I jes walkin' yanno? Walking forever an' getting' nowhere, an' not even seein' anywhere to turn… Everywhere de same."

Enoki stooped down to set Zynn upon the ground and rose back up with his shoulders hunched and lanky arms coiled around his tiny waist.

"Ah… I see. Your Grandfather was indeed a guiding light in your life," Cygnus began with a tiny smirk, "But he was right about you…"

Put on the alert then, Enoki's head snapped to attention.

"Eh? Wh-What'd he say?"

Cygnus thumbed his braided beard as if deep in thought and far too preoccupied to hear the question.

"Come on! What'd he say? You gotta tell me Cygnus please! Dis my Grandda we talkin' about, you ain' DAT cruel! Spit it out!" Enoki begged, "Cygnus? Cygnus! Cygnus! COME ON MON!"

The white-furred bull took a few moments, looking up at the sky, swishing his tail and deliberately stalling before he finally turned his amused, affectionate gaze back down to Enoki.

"It's frustrating isn't it? When someone doesn't listen," he finally chided.

Enoki blinked, dumbfounded, and his jaw went slack.

"H-Huh…?"

"Heh, I said… It's frustrating when someone doesn't listen. Inali said your one flaw was you never listened to him. And it looks like he was right," replied the druid.

He had hoped it might have a profound awakening effect, but his Troll companion's face twisted with the offended grimace of someone who had just been informed the sky was blue.

"Well, duh! YAH he said dat, he said dat a lot! Sheesh an' here I thought you had some touching, meaningful advice for me, t'anks fah nothin'!" he groused, snatching up the ruby raptor at his feet and stomping off to leave.

"I do, Enoki," Cygnus added firmly, stopping the other with both of them facing opposite directions, "What was the last thing Inali said to you…? Do you remember?"

The wind gusted with force and whipped the long, thin streak of red that was his ponytail around Enoki's body furiously, crimson bangs flashing over his eyes.

"H-He told me…" he began, screwing his eyes shut and letting Zynn down again, but faltering, grasping at his memories, "I-I don' really remembah much. W-We jes said goodbye yanno?"

"That's not it. Remember Enoki… You remember, I know you do…"

The day Inali died was still a streak of dark emptiness in his memory, and thinking of his grandfather so sick and small in the final hours of his life only brought tears rolling down his cheeks.

"H-He said… Stuff about bein' a good Shaman! An' totems an' spirits an' all kinda crap, I was sobbin' my eyes out I don' know!" he stammered frustratedly.

"Think back, you were listening, you're just choosing not to now!"

The grasses hissed as they flattened, slapped and crashed under the gales and Enoki forced himself to remember. He knew all along what he had said, but it made no sense, held no meaning, not until he thought once again what the words truly meant. As if the kind voice were whispering in his ear he heard exactly what Inali had said once more.

"He said!" he called bravely to the winds as if it would carry his voice to him among the spirits, "He said I should live! He said I should do what I want! I should listen tah de Earth an' follow my heart! He said-!"

A poignant gasp ended his stream of thought, and he turned back to face Cygnus once more; Cygnus who had already turned to face him again with a sagely smile.

"He told you… All you need to know. _You_ know what you want to do, where you want to go, you've already chosen your path, you need only to follow it."

Enoki fell silent. His emerald eyes darted from Cygnus, to the ground, to the sky to Cygnus again, and finally, once more to the horizon far in the distance just visible over the Tauren's great stature. Long ears slowly swiveled back up, his brow lifted, and his vision cleared; taken by the call of the wild, of the unknown and a teasing flash of violet hair on a speeding raptor. The very same force tugged him toward the hazy horizon with the tantalizing visions of worlds and lands unexplored, feral and waiting. The Shaman gave Cygnus a final, steady gaze, and the first genuine ghost of a smile since Inali's passing tugged the corners of his lips.

"Thanks," he whispered earnestly.

Cygnus chuckled and bowed his heavy, horned head in respect for the young man before him.

"It is my duty and my pleasure to reach out to those in pain and help them find their way when all seems lost," he replied, "To help them remember that nothing is ever truly lost, there is always another path, even if it seems the Gods have thrown obstacles in every clear way."

Enoki nodded and picked up Zynn.

"Grandda said sometin' like dat once," he remarked with a coy grin, "See? I can listen when it realleh important."

"Yes I can see that young one, I gained that very wisdom from him in fact, years ago. And he knew that about you too," Cygnus added with a chuckle, "But enough of this, Inali wouldn't want us standing out here in the cold. If you're feeling up to it, I know dinner's about to be served around the central fire. You're more than welcome to join us."

Enoki smiled a private, furtive smile and put a quick, light step filled with purpose forward.

"Oh, yeah dat sound good, I stop by an grab a bite mebbe," was his only answer, "T'anks again Cygnus, sometimes, yeh realleh do jes gotta listen."

Before the Tauren could answer, Enoki was gone; sprinting away fast as the winds on the plains back home. Cygnus smiled to himself, closed his eyes, and tapped the earth affectionately with his staff.

"You were right about your boy Inali," he whispered, "I foresee a long journey for him, but someday, just as you said, he will find himself, and he will find where he belongs."

He shifted his hooves heavily toward back home and as he had fully expected, Enoki was nowhere to be found at dinner that night.

The Troll was instead sealed inside his cabin, flurrying with boundless energy as he cleaned and straightened the place for its final rest. Where there had been nothing but endless plains of nothingness there was finally a path, a goal, a future. There was somewhere to go, anywhere to go, and someone to find. Grief no longer clouded his senses and crushed his spirit, instead he remembered even more vividly what his Grandfather had told him. His words rang in his heart as the only golden truth in the world. He had to live.

No sleep came for Enoki that night as the sun set and the double moons rose in their ancient path across the sky. They watched, silent and majestic as the windows of the cabin were sealed and boarded shut, the fire was put out, and the Shaman prepared his home like a sacred memorial monument. He tidied the kitchen, swept out the living room, threw all the stored food out for the animals and arranged everything in a neat and organized portrait of his life the way his grandfather liked to keep his home. The only thing he dared not touch was the old Tauren's personal chambers.

Though he paused for quite some time with his three-fingered hand spread on the carved wooden door and his long ear pressed against it as if he could hear laughter, or snoring, or the quiet singing of old Tauren lullabies before Inali's slumber, Enoki never mustered the will to open it. Inali's room would stay a sacred chamber; an untouched and unaltered mausoleum. That final task would remain forever undone, and only once the rest of the house felt just as still and at peace did he finally gather his bravery and enter his own bedroom for the final time.

The redhead stood in the doorway, breathless, with emerald eyes surveying the carnage that had become of his chambers. It nearly brought his entire crusade to an end but the thought of stopping then was far more painful than the act of loading his worldly belongings into Inali's old traveling pack. The moment he grasped a pair of black leather breeches to fold as neatly as he could, however, it felt right once again. The old mischievous grin graced his puckish, angular features and he laughed as he crammed a tunic right in after it.

Enoki loped about his bedroom in only the silvery light streaming through his window, snatching what clothes would fit into his bag and dressing himself in what would not, leaping over Zynn's nest as not to disturb his sleep and filling the trunk at the foot of his bed with things that had to be left behind. He dressed himself in his thickest and most protective garb; laced black trousers with matching ankle wraps, a bright red, long sleeved tunic with simple leather shoulder pads, but most importantly he strapped a long dagger to one hip and the precious satchel of Inali's totems to the other. When he had finished, the room was lit with a rosy golden hue of dawn and the only trace of someone having ever lived in it was the neatly made bed and the half burned candle on the dresser at its side.

It felt strange to the Troll, standing in the chambers where he had grown up and feeling as if he had never been there at all. Everything faded to the muted flaxen hues of misty memory as he watched and bid silent farewell to the ghosts of his younger self and the doting Grandfather who had tended to him. He found himself smiling crookedly, left with a feeling of an end leading to a new beginning and giving the room a jaunty, mock salute.

"Well house, guess dis it!" he chuckled as he turned his back toward his room and laid a hand on the doorframe, "Lots of good memories… But… It time fah ol' Enoki tah find his own way."

Teal fingertips glided over the smooth wood notched once a year to measure how tall Enoki had grown, though he was taller than the last mark. Nimble feet marched past the hearth where he had so often fallen asleep in Inali's lap though the fire was out and the ashes swept. A sharp whistle echoed in the stillness of the cabin and the skittering of tiny eager raptor claws broke the silence as Zynn hurried after his master. The door opened, filling the dwelling with thick, hazy golden light and Enoki turned, wild red hair a fiery halo with the sun behind him and his long shadow bent across the floor.

"I'll nevah forget dis place, I'll nevah forget," he whispered to no one in particular with a fond smile on his lips, "Thank you, Grandda, Cygnus, everyone…"

Enoki chuckled quietly and finally took the step backward off the threshold of the house.

"Thank you. An' goodbye."

Darkness closed like a curtain over the scene inside, the hinges of the old door squeaked affectionately in farewell, and Enoki shut it for the final time.

He failed to notice there were even tears in his eyes until they fell in two hot streaks down his cheeks, but he whistled unsteadily to Zynn again and turned to face the road leading out of town.

"Come on boy, lets go before anyone wakes up an' makes a scene," he chuckled as he dried his eyes, hefted his pack on his back and trotted briskly through the center of town.

Aykwani was indeed silent and still sleeping as the Troll and his raptor stole sneakily away in the early dawn leaving nothing in their wake but a trail of double toed and clawed footprints side by side. Enoki made certain to grace every building, every windmill and vendor stand with a silent goodbye and the same crooked, amused salute and all too soon the towering eagle-headed totem poles that guarded the main road into town rose over the hill swathed in shadow. His heart soared, his footsteps quickened, his escape was nearly clean and stolen, but as he crested the slope of the shallow knoll he found the proverbial gateway to freedom altogether blocked by a line of villagers awaiting him.

They held baskets of food and parting gifts, they were clad in their finest ceremonial garb as if sending a hero off to war, his friends, Inali's friends, everyone in the village had gathered for him. Cygnus stood at the head of it all, leaning on his staff and smiling with white fur ablaze and glowing. He raised a hand in greeting to the shocked young man and beckoned him onward.

"Hail, Enoki!" he called with a chuckle, "Keep going! You didn't really think we were going to let you slip off into the world without a proper goodbye did you?"

Enoki stood stark still, stunned, even as Zynn scampered off to the offering of a juicy hunk of raw meat to tide him over on the road tossed for him. He had stepped straight into a story again. He had long imagined the beginning of his journey in his head and it had always been filled with grand ceremony and epic farewells that would be handed down for centuries to come. He never imagined it would actually come to pass, and as he trotted toward Cygnus he felt more majestic and heroic than any of the tales he had ever heard. That, he realized, was what Inali meant to him in his final breaths, Inali who had always known his spirit was wild.

"H-How'd you know I was leavin' today?" Enoki asked breathlessly as he reached the villagers on the road.

Cygnus chuckled and laid his firm hands on either of his shoulders.

"Enoki, boy, someday you'll understand… That someone as unpredictable as you is the most predictable type of person there is…" he answered, shaking his head and gazing into his eyes solemnly, "Inali knew this day was coming, we all did, and I could see yesterday you finally understood. You were never meant to live out your days here. But know this always…"

With his words, Cygnus unveiled a long, bright crimson traveling cloak with a brightly feathered hood and trim which he draped over Enoki's shoulders.

"Aykwani Village will always be your home…"

Enoki's breath caught in his chest as the fine cloak settled around him and flared in the cool morning breeze. He tied it close to his chest with reverent hands and stood with a rakish grin up at the Elder.

"A'course Cygnus, dis always gonna be a safe place fah me, an' you all always gonna be family," he said with a note of stark pride in his voice.

Cygnus nodded, bowed in respect for the Shaman, and stepped aside to let the others bestow their gifts of sustenance. They joked and laughed with him as they stuffed his pack with jerky and wrapped seed cakes, teasing him about going off into the wild world with nothing to eat, and he easily chortled along with them at his own expense. He walked a grand processional through a dual line of Tauren, hugged his friends, Mokos and Etaha, and all the other young bulls ruffling his hair and punching his shoulders, green with envy but wishing their friend well, and finally reached the totem poles that marked the end of the village.

Cygnus stood proudly before them, commanding attention with his regal presence. He leaned forward on his staff, one hand raised to the heavens, and closed his eyes for a moment of silence before he lifted his great horned head and invoked the spirits with a haunting, gruff Taurahe chant to bless a traveler on his journey. The rest of the congregation answered the mystic verses, asking the Gods to watch over Enoki and guide him always in harmony. Cygnus ended it with a rap of his staff against the earth and turned his smiling countenance back down to the troll.

"We call upon the favor of the Spirits for you, Enoki, son of Aykwani, may the wind guide you, and may you walk with the Earthmother always," he proclaimed.

Enoki grinned and gave a silent nod. Troll and Tauren alike pounded a fist to their chest and bowed, and Cygnus stepped aside to reveal the long and winding path disappearing far beyond the horizon.

"Follow the road out of Mulgore due East, there you will cross through the mountains and into the Barrens, it is a harsh land, but keep along the road and you will find a Tauren settlement called Camp Taurajo, there they can offer you a place to rest and some food. Then, North along the Gold Road is a place called The Crossroads. And from there… You may chose any of the four cardinal directions to take your journey, then it is entirely up to you," Cygnus said, watching the excitement brimming in Enoki's eyes with every word.

"Crossroads eh…? I like de sound'a dat…" he breathed.

The road before him lead to an infinite crossroads, boundless destinations, destiny. He stood between them, his village behind him and the unknown outstretched and waiting for him to take that first step; the first step outside the guardian totems since he had been whisked through as a child, injured and on the back of a speeding Kodo. Azeroth loomed before him a massive and incomprehensibly huge task, but as he sucked in a breath of fresh morning air, gripped the straps of his pack and lifted his foot, the old, trite saying Inali had loved proved ironically true. A journey of one thousand miles began with a single step.

Enoki passed through the protective barrier of the watchful eyes of the Eagle gods and stood, alone and victorious on the road at last. He turned however, to whistle for Zynn to come to his side as well as to give Cygnus one last mischievous grin with a crooked salute.

"Don' get too bored witout me, ya hear?" he snorted.

"I'm afraid life will be rather quiet now… Without you. We will pray for you every day, and someday, may our fates cross once more. Goodbye, Enoki," the old Druid replied, echoed by a score of heartfelt farewells.

The emboldened heart beating in the Shaman's chest swelled, he smiled, and turned over his shoulder with a hand in the air and a flash of red hair.

"Goodbye."

Enoki looked back no more at his village as he walked, he could feel it growing smaller and smaller in the distance, further and further away from his heart. He no longer belonged in the quiet, peaceful confines of provincial life, instead his head was filled with visions of military outposts of the Barrens, of soldiers and fortune and what he might find once he crossed through the mountain path. He journeyed not for the end, but for the journey itself, and with every step along the marked, worn dirt road his spirit became whole once more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Ah yes, and here we are in chapter 8 at last! First off... Let me just say that my buddy Ringo deserves a MEDAL OF HONOR for putting up with my bullshit over this chapter, and beta reading it like... 89359364743675 times! 3 Because it was rather a bitch to write. This first installment has been rather difficult for me, as it has to cover such a long period of time, and the pacing has been murder to get just right. It really is more like a super extended prologue to Enoki's story and though I felt it was important to write it all out, I didn't want to make it TOO long. SO YES! Hopefully just 2 more chapters or so of Episode one and it will be finished! I-I hope 8D

J-Just think of it as the 2 hour pilot episode! 3 Enjoy!

**Chapter 8**

Fording the rolling emerald fields of Mulgore proved to be a more daunting task than Enoki had ever dared imagine, but it was undeniably the most thrilling experience in his thus far sleepy and sheltered life. He walked the road during the day with his faithful raptor at his side, spring in his step and a fiery glow in his chest. He saw the river and all its winding tributaries meshing through the fertile land, every bluff and mesa reaching high into the strata as if to catch the clouds in their stony palms and the shining waves of the winds as they made their presence known. At night he strayed from the road to find the shelter of ancient gnarled tree roots or clusters of rocks to curl beneath with his head on his pack and Zynn protectively under one arm, and at first light he was back on his feet, a crust of bread in his mouth and trotting enthusiastically onward.

After several days of immersion in his verdant homeland he noticed the grass begin to thin, the path begin to ascend and the terrain grow rocky and jagged. The sun hung low and orange and the air grew dusty and dry while his feet tread in earthy red clay. Nights were sharply colder against the baking days the higher he got and before long the greenery had completely vanished from the land and left him wending his way through the mountain pass and into the vast, flat wasteland of the Barrens.

The sprawling, arid savannah was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Roamed by herds of Thunder Lizards, Zhevra, Plainstriders, and packs of ravenous wild raptors, stocky trees with barreled trunks and flat canopies dotted the sandy, golden land shrouded in shimmering dust and heat. There he saw the first pair of armored war-seasoned Orcish guards standing sentinel along the road who smirked at the awe about the fresh looking young Troll and welcomed him with a cordial bow.

"Throm-ka brother! Hey there pup!" one called in jest, "You're going the wrong way, Mulgore and Thunder Bluff and nice cool green meadows are the other way!"

He laughed, but Enoki's face only lit up excitedly to see Orcs again as he trotted over with his juvenile raptor at his side.

"Fah! Yeah I know dat! Why yeh think I goin' dis way eh? I lived dere fah mosta my life. Heh, but hey! Hey yeh all from de military yeah?" he asked animatedly.

Dumbfounded, the same guard who had spoken before shrugged and smiled uneasily.

"Well yes, The Barrens is Horde territory after all!" he said proudly, "There are tons of guards stationed here. Gotta be, 'cause the forest of Elves is up North, and Theramore just a stone's throw South."

The Orc snorted and spat on the ground, which finally riled his companion to speak.

"Damn Humans always lurking, keepin' an eye on us… Tch, it's a wonder they're getting anyone to join up," he groused.

Enoki's ears pricked up hearing one key phrase that sent his heart racing against his ribcage.

"Join up?" he ventured, hardly daring to hope.

"Huh? Oh, yeah they've been recruiting Grunts for Barrens patrol at The Crossroads for a couple of days now, had a Night Elf offensive hit us hard up by the Mor'shan Rampart. 'Course the Warsong Clan is too busy to help out, and we lost a lot of good brothers and sisters that day," the second guard hissed as the second shook his head with an Orcish oath for the loss of the dead.

All the Troll heard out of his mouth, however, was that there were openings in the military, and that the Horde needed him. Not to mention that Jyota had to be stationed somewhere as a military man as well.

"Hah! Dat great news mon! Thanks a ton!" he gushed, clapping each hand hard on either flabbergasted Orc's shoulder.

"Uh, well not really, we sorta lost-" the first guard to speak piped up again with one heavy brow raised and a finger in the air, but was interrupted as Enoki plowed his way straight between them and sent them spinning on their heels.

"So den Camp Taurajo jes' a ways down dis path yeh? Den it on tah dis Crossroads place?" he called more as an afterthought, hopping on one foot to wait for Zynn to catch up to him.

"What…? Oh, yeah yeah! Uh, you should reach Taurajo by the end of the day, then if you get an early start you can be at the Crossroads by nightfall in two days' time!" one guard answered.

"No way mon! I'll be rubbin' elbows wit heroes an' havin' lunch wit de Warchief an' Shadow Huntah Vol'jin themselves by noon tomorrow! Jes you watch. Enoki come tah de Barrens, so de Barrens bettah watch itself!" he cackled, gave the Orcs a crooked salute, and turned to full sprint down the road toward Camp Taurajo.

"Enoki, huh?" one of the guards mused to his equally befuddled companion as they watched the Troll disappear, "Well, I'd say The Barrens could certainly use a hefty dose of that enthusiasm about now."

The other Orc snorted amusedly in agreement and shouldered his axe.

"Yeah, but there goes our amusement for the day for sure…"

Camp Taurajo bore witness to Enoki's whirlwind of exhilaration later that evening when the innkeeper had all too happily checked him into his room and fed him a hot meal which he devoured greedily. They swapped tales of Tauren life, of plans, of dreams, and Enoki went to bed only after the fires went out and Zynn had passed out cold on the floor beside him. The next morning he awoke at the first signs of dawn even still, packed his bag, left a generous tip from the donations of his village and started out once more on his way to The Crossroads on foot.

The Gold Road proved to be a much different trek than the roads from Mulgore. Though Zynn seemed to be perfectly at home with the bright sun beating on his blood red scales, Enoki's teal skin glowed in the harsh light and glistened with sweat. The landscape vacillated and shimmered in heat waves, the air lifted the fine dust and the wind was weak and baking even when it blew. Doggedly he kept up his pace, determined to prove the prediction wrong, and shifted to wolf form as often as his paws could take the searing, sandy road.

Much to the Shaman's chagrin, however, the sun set on one day and he was forced to take refuge beneath a small outcropping of rocks for the night. Spirits nevertheless still high, before the sun could rise over the mountains and ignite the land in golden flame he took to the road once more in the cool stillness just before dawn. That day, with a good sprint as a wolf until the road glowed white hot, a vicious pace, and water skin always at the ready on his lips he completed his journey just after the midday heat. Through the murky, heat muddled horizon, shrouded in smoke, a crimson spire topped in wickedly curved bone talons finally rose, and for the first time Enoki laid eyes on the brazen insignia of the Horde painted proudly over every side of the hide awning.

Soon after, the fence of trunk sized logs emerged from the haze like an impenetrable bulwark and the grand outpost swelled to full glory with banners flying, guards keeping sentinel and a steady stream of explorers entering and departing. The worn hub of travel and commerce sang with war drums, hooves, feet and chatter as Enoki approached which only made his pulse and his pace quicken to pass through the gates and into the Crossroads.

The Orc guards paid little attention to the tall, redheaded Shaman as he loped by, but to him it was like entering a fortress. The dusty air parted and revealed to him the bustling, crowded and noisy marketplace where vendors called out and shook their wares at the people passing through. Meat smoked and sizzled on barbeques, bags and weapons of all kinds hung glinting on racks, and a sea of all races of the Horde bumped and milled in the type of organized chaos only a market could boast.

Enoki barely realized he was staring in awe before a hunched, skeletal Forsaken woman ambled into him arguing with her altogether put out Blood Elf companion whining about how the heat was going to ruin his beautiful blond locks for certain. They both interrupted their snarking to unleash their rage on him, and he stepped hastily aside only to bang into a young female of his own kind who apologized to him instead and continued to chase after her wayward, newly trained tiger as it charged after a wandering prairie dog. As he watched her go amusedly, yet another passerby squeaked as he bumped into him carrying a cumbersome wicker basket filled to the brim with a kaleidoscope of colorful flowers. The timid little Troll priest merely ducked his head with a hasty apology, flushed, and skittered away, long blue braid tied off in a bright pink bow swishing behind him as he trotted down the road toward Ratchet. Something held his eyes for a moment on the fleeing form, but it seemed just as quickly as they had made contact the crowd shifted and swallowed them both once again and he paid it no more mind.

"Hah! Did you see dat Zynn?" Enoki asked, beaming down at his companion as the only motionless figure amidst the constant, ever ebbing stream of life, "Dat was an Elf! A real live Elf! An' one'a de Undead! An' a pretty cute Troll…"

Zynn swished his rigid tail curiously and his reptilian eyes flicked back and forth, overwhelmed by the sensory overload assaulting both fresh young recruits to the Crossroads. Enoki chuckled and patted his thigh, urging the beast to follow him as he edged he way carefully though the crowd.

The entire settlement was teeming with sights, smells and sounds unseen before to the Shaman. Being a Troll to begin with, and having grown rather tall for his own race, Enoki easily towered over most of the Undead, Elves, and even many Orcs for a perfect view daunted only by the familiar hulk of Tauren as they too fought to make their ways to the vendors or the inn. As he walked through the huts painted in Tauren pictograms he was offered hefty, spiked maces, clandestine daggers, and shields from dark-lidded, grinning salesmen and women hoping to make an easy gold piece from a little whelp still wet behind the ears, all of which he only cast a knowing smirk at as he passed them by. Aromatic smoke from cooking meat and baking bread coiled and wafted around sweating bodies piled hungrily against the food vendors, colorful fruit hung in rope baskets and from every angle hands jutted from cluttered, burgeoning tents and stands foisting out their wares.

Toward the central beacon that was the inn embers floated in the thick atmosphere and the clang of metal and a blacksmith's hammer rang loud and clear over the din. A line of customers wrapped around the smoldering hut of all professions filled with people brandishing broken weapons and torn, tattered clothing for a quick patch before heading out on the next leg of their journey. Though even thicker than that crowd was the one gathered in a makeshift circle at the very front entrance to the inn, cheering at some unknown, hidden spectacle.

Enoki's ears pricked up and he loped his way over, peering over shoulders just in time to see a young, dark-haired Elf clad in plate armor hit the dirt at the mercy of a bolt of fire against his shield. He wiped the trail of blood from his mouth on the back of his hand as he got up with a grin, and unfazed he whirled his blade over his wrist, flashed in brilliant, holy light and charged the stunned Troll Mage. He snarled and fired off one last desperate searing fireball, but it detonated harmlessly against the shield of light around the Blood Knight. Sword and staff collided in a burst of flame and light and the duel ended at last with the laughing Troll pinned to the ground, out of mana with the ever smirking Sin'dorei's blade aimed at his throat.

Groans and cheers alike erupted from the crowd and coin purses jangled as bets were begrudgingly paid off. Enoki simply applauded, sorry he missed the beginning of the event, and once the crowd began to disperse and move on shoved his way to the combatants.

"Good one that time, my friend!" the Elf chortled as he offered a hand down to help the Troll up, "But you're going to have to be much more clever to best me I'm afraid."

His companion took the proffered hand amusedly and stood up, dusted his robes and straightened out his bright orange braid.

"Heh, come on mon, give me a little more credit. All I know how tah do is chuck fire at stuff an' hope it don' get close enough tah bite," he laughed.

"Well, I admit normally I'd be the one doing the dirty work, but sooner or later you're going to have to learn to AVOID getting hurt rather than counting on running back to me to heal your-"

"Oy! Hey guys!" Enoki cut in with a grin as soon as he was within earshot, "Hey! Hey, you both look like fighters. You from de military? Any idea if dey still signin' people up?"

Both friends looked startled for a moment, but surprise quickly washed into warm, kind smiles.

"Oh we have a new recruit here do we? Well, we're not currently employed in the Horde armed forces, but you'll be pleased to know that yes they are still here taking fresh meat," the Blood Knight joked in his most prim and polite manner as he sheathed his sword.

"Welcome to de Crossroads broddah!" the Mage continued with a hearty clap on Enoki's shoulder and a playful, greeting butt of their tusks, "Yeah, if you be wantin' tah enlist dey got a hut set up jes over dere on de oddah side'a de Blacksmith, can't miss it."

Without another beat wasted Enoki thanked them both and followed the sound of the forge and the clamor toward the Blacksmith's hut. Weaving his way around the line he excused himself and assured everyone pointedly he was not in fact cutting but simply moving through, his heart raced, and his eyes gleamed as an altogether different group of people came into view. On the other side of the Blacksmith just as his fellow Troll had informed him there stood a proud military tent in the same red regalia of the towers in the Crossroads with banners on every post painted with the bold and jagged black sigil of the Horde. A handful of grayed Orcs milled about in front of it chatting with the young grunts about their service or their sons and daughters who were off fighting, but few it seemed were actually there to enlist.

Though to Enoki, that only meant a shorter wait and the faster he could get his assignment. He flew through a break in the crowd, clutching the straps of his pack and grinning as he approached the tent, but as he rounded to the front all he saw was a coy twinkling of gold wrapped around long, immaculate tusks out of the corner of his eye. A flash of violet followed echoed in rich, boisterous laughter that rung with warm familiarity through his core. Something sleek and black was coiled loyally on the dusty stone road and his breath was stolen from his lungs like it had been only once before in his short life. The images and colors blended like the end of a beautiful dream, and his eyes beheld once more the smug and grinning face that graced only his deepest thoughts. The roar of the crowds vanished in his ears, the bustle and business faded to oblivion around him and all that was left was the laughing vision of brutal beauty, glowing golden in an aura of sunlight as he slowly turned to face him.

"No way…" Enoki breathed as the amusement melded into incredulous recognition on the other's face.

He rose as his jaw dropped and he unthinkingly threaded his way around the recruitment table; his eyes fixated on the sight of a lost few days of hazy bliss in the past returning to him. He too was paralyzed in the piercing emerald gaze of the shaman wreathed in the fiery red glow of his hair and spirit, caught suddenly in the strange doubt of whether or not his eyes and heart cruelly deceived him.

"Can't be…" he ventured, "Enoki…?"

The beautiful apparition spoke and made himself known, made himself undeniably real. He could see him, he heard his voice, his body trembled to behold him once more, but he was there, waiting for him as had been foretold. All of his longing, all of his pining and dreaming all culminated in the conclusion of a single, simple journey guided by the hand of fate and his mouth formed the breathless name once more.

"_Jyota_…"

His feet were as the wind itself over the dusty ground as he ran toward the dream. Their worlds stopped, their eyes met, and their arms encircled one another as they collided in mirthful, reckless joy. Both Trolls erupted into euphoric laughter as they were reunited, twirling in each other's arms, tusks butting and noses brushing as their lips came tantalizingly close to a longing kiss they dared not steal. Enoki tangled his fingers in the wild violet Mohawk and nuzzled his forehead into his to drown himself in the euphoric abyss of his golden gaze.

"I can't believe you here mon!" he laughed.

"Enoki! Sparky! It realleh you! I can't believe you here eiddah!" Jyota replied, squeezing Enoki ever tighter.

The raucous laughter, wrestling and playful punching continued in the timelessness only their unbridled, shared joy could incite. Jyota's intoxicating, wild smell filled his nostrils, his rich blue skin heated his and his entire being thrummed in dizzying passion, feeling as if he could stay that way for eternity. They pulled hastily away when they realized exactly how close they were, however, and held each other at arm's length.

"Hehe, yeah I jes heard dey was takin' recruits here, so I came on ovah! I-I had no idea it was you," Enoki finally panted.

Jyota laughed again and reached out to smooth back the unkempt red hair, tucking a few strands behind his ear and letting his fingers linger over his striped cheek.

"Oh, so your grandda finally letcha out from undah his hoof eh?" he joked in good faith.

Though he immediately rued the words, for the giddiness faded for a gruesome instant and Enoki's eyes shut and his head hung in sorrow.

"Grandda he… He passed away," he informed him through his tight throat.

"Damn, Sparky… I so sorry tah hear dat," Jyota said mournfully and pulled the Shaman tightly into his arms.

Enoki smiled, laid his head on Jyota's shoulder and sank into his embrace with a tiny shake of his head.

"Don't be. Grandda lived a good long life, an' he left dis world a happy man wit all his hopes fah my future," he murmured into his neck.

"An' now you show up here in my arms again, jes' like I said. Though dat pipsqueak wit' you is a little small fah ridin' yet! Hah!" Jyota continued, still in a state of disbelief as he gestured down to Zynn, shifted back from Enoki and gazed into his emerald eyes, rendered nearly speechless, "I… I… Sparky you know all dis time I had hopes. I realleh did! I honestly, selfishly, asked de Loa every day tah let dis happen, but… At de same time I told myself I had tah be realistic. I didn' really think I'd evah see you again. But here you are, right here! An' I nevah truly realized how much I wanted-"

"Oh give me a break! Blah blah blah! You talk too much! Go ahead and kiss him, Jyota! We all know you want to!" came a sudden and gruff interruption from behind them.

Unaware they had been privy to an audience, they both stole a glance toward the grinning row of Orc recruiters at the table all watching the scene with baited breath and laughed before burrowing back into each other.

"Heh, he got a point mon," Enoki chimed in boldly, mischief glinting in his eyes, "You nevah was good at kissin' people when it obvious you both want to…"

Jyota grinned from ear to ear and hauled the redhead dashingly into his embrace.

"A kiss huh…? Well I think I can spare one'a-" he began, only to wind up the one dipped back in Enoki's arms with their lips sealed passionately before he could finish.

Enoki kissed him, mindless of the laughter and applause from somewhere unknown, heedless of the people pausing to stare, knowing only the hot skin against his, the hands gripping his back and the bangled tusks locked with his as Jyota returned the slow, smoldering dance of their lips. It was their zenith, their victory, and nothing else existed while their souls could sustain it. Its clutch loosened, and they reluctantly separated, breathless, smirking, and flushed but ever casual and collected, two victorious heroes of their private epic gazing into each other's eyes at the beginning of their tale rather than the end.

"I here… Jyota," Enoki whispered, closing his eyes and nuzzling his forehead into his, "Dis where I belong now. With you."

"Definitely," fervently replied the Hunter.

"I spent so long wishin' for dis, imaginin' it, ovah and ovah as many ways as it could be! Bad an' good, mostly good but-!" the bright-eyed Shaman gushed, "Haha! It freakin' unreal! I thought for sure I was gonna walk all ovah de damn world an' nevah find you again."

"Ahhh… But dat de powah of de Loa, mon…" Jyota crooned, taking Enoki's hand and pressing a suave kiss into his knuckles, "It de powah of fate. You was meant tah come here today, I was meant tah be here, everythin' dat happened tah make dis moment was done on the whim of de Spirits. It a sign we meant fah more."

"So… Den where am I _meant_ tah sign up?" Enoki finally asked with a puckish quirk of his lips.

Jyota alighted one last amused kiss on his forehead, placed a hand in the small of his back and shoved him playfully at the table.

"Sign yah soul ovah to us right dere," he instructed.

Enoki pitched forward and collided with the table where a where a grizzled, smug looking Orc sat among the others with his boots up on the table picking his chipped double tusks with a piece of hay and watching the spectacle with glee. Enoki lifted his head, surveying the impressive, heavily armored stature from the waist up, and met with the stranger's intense and keenly steel eyed gaze. His grey streaked, receded, jet black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his wiry beard was cinched into two tight braids on either side of his chin. Awe twinkled in his eyes, but in a flash of deadly precision a nearby ledger and quill pen from the table launched toward his head. He yelped and deflected them with a forearm, but glared daggers at the amused captain he had just been admiring snickering coarsely at him as he picked up the pen to write his name.

"Oh so you can write! And block something aimed at your face apparently. Good start! Just make your mark right there kid, just a formality so we know how many bodies we're supposed to have," he said, sliding his feet off and slamming his meaty palms down on the table in their place, "So! Then, you're the feisty little shaman from the provincial dump in Mulgore Jyota wouldn't shut his trap about eh? I expected something a little more than a scrawny whelp!"

Enoki twitched and the quill snapped as it ran off the page.

"Oy! Where you get off talkin' tah me like dat eh? I here offerin' up myself an' you go an' talk trash?" Enoki bristled furiously, "De hell kinda messed up leadah are you if you gonna make people feel like crap de minute dey comin' in here tah help yah worthless ass? You gonna deserve it when yah men abandon you an' let de stinkin' humans put yah head on a pike!"

Enoki seethed, short fuse obliterated in an instant, but much to his surprise, after a moment of stunned silence the Orc gasped in delight and exploded in merry laughter.

"OUCH! This one's got a sharp tongue Jyota!" he guffawed, "You sure you want to keep him?"

Jyota glided to Enoki's side and swept the signed ledger up into his hand with a slanted smile and a coy glance out of the corner of his twinkling eyes.

"Aw shut your trap Gor'rik! You ruinin' my fairytale reunion here!" he snorted before leaning down to whisper less than secretively beside Enoki's ear, "Don' listen tah him Sparky, he jes an old blowhard who pissed I won't hop intah bed wit'im."

"Hey!" Gor'rik protested, "I am in no way interested in 'hopping into bed' with guys, let alone you! Give me a pair of perfect tits, a tight little waist and curvy hips any day of the week over a scrawny flat Troll ass. Though I really shouldn't say anything about being a blowhard, I'll just dig myself a deeper grave, heh."

Jyota laughed heartily, the fiery rage in Enoki's gut abated, and he crossed his arms across his chest petulantly.

"Tch, ain't no woman gonna be hoppin' intah yah bed with dat attitude," he scoffed with a coy smirk as an afterthought, "Or dat face neiddah…"

A beat of silence passed among the three men, and Gor'rik slapped the table with his thick, calloused hands as he howled again.

"HAH! Oh you'll fit in quite nicely around here I think!" he roared joyously, "Name's Gor'rik, as Jyota was so kind to point out."

"Enoki," the Shaman replied quickly, "An don' be treatin' me like no whelp, I'll fry yah ass."

He snapped his fingers with a crackling of sparks to make his point in front of a toothy, confident grin as Jyota's heart privately skipped a beat behind him.

"Oh I won't, I'll be treating you like anything but a whelp! I work my men to the bone for the Horde! And I send little whelps home to suckle at their mama's teats for a while longer until they learn how to be real men!" Gor'rik jokingly lectured.

"Sounds like a real hoot," Enoki commented out of the corner of his mouth.

"For sure," the hunter concurred sardonically, "Gor'rik be de Commander around here, an' he took me on as his right hand not too long ago, but I… Technically outrank him now."

Gor'rik's eyes rolled dramatically in his skull and he swished a hand in the air dismissively.

"Yes yes, the Warchief was very kind to spare the mighty Jyota for the menial task of patrolling Orgrimmar's proverbial front yard, so if I might be so intrusive, may I humbly implore you to round up the new recruits and lead them to the barracks to get them suited up for tomorrow for me? I believe we're pretty much done here for today," declared the commander as he stood and brushed off his palms.

Jyota instinctively snapped to respectful attention, and pounded a fist over his heart as he bowed.

"Yes sir!" he barked before turning to face the disorganized flock of meandering recruits lingering around the tent, "Alright ladies an' gents! Lets get a move on an' getcha suited up! Yah life is for de Horde an' only for de Horde startin' right now!" he hollered over the small band of fresh bodies, "Single file behind me, lets MARCH!"

Several moments of realization were needed before the malaise of waiting lifted, but slowly those who had pledged themselves for a tour of duty in the Barrens loyally emerged from the crowd and gravitated toward the blue-skinned Troll's commanding voice. Enoki had never seen Jyota acting the part of his rank and it only solicited a snicker from him as he too fell into line behind him with a mock salute.

"Heheh, yes sir, Jyota, sir," he cackled under his breath, voice dripping in teasing sarcasm.

"Oy, you bettah learn some respect here kiddo, I lenient, I think yah adorable, but some'a de oddah guys in charge around here ain' so nice," Jyota warned kindly, to which Enoki only grinned wider.

"Good luck tryin'."

Jyota opened his mouth to reply, but Gor'rik denied him the opportunity by shoving the reins to his raptor into his palm from his perch astride a hulking grey wolf. He mounted obediently as well and took his place on the opposite side of the line comprised of all races of the Horde, every age, gender and experience. With a whistle and a shout from the imposing Orc commander, all automatically fell into step behind both he and the Troll while they lead the brisk march out of the Crossroads and into the wild wasteland of The Barrens.

"Let's move out!"

Enoki called Zynn to his side with a whistle and the raptor was quick to follow his master in taking yet another first step of a journey into the unknown. He knew nothing of military life, of the Barrens, of the Horde, but he craved the swelling feeling of belonging that that blossomed in his chest that day. Walking with his brothers and sisters, marching with purpose and with pride to serve the Warchief that had saved and united them all gave him the purpose he had lost with his Grandfather's passing. His soul was bolstered as they sung ancient war songs and he memorized every word, learned every name of his new companions, and joined in when he could, laughing, singing and joking. All of it became a grand parade of hope and thrill and the young Shaman treasured every moment of it.

Walking directly into the sunset in the west, it took the battalion until nightfall traveling at a brisk pace down the road to reach the barracks nestled just off to the North side beside a lush oasis. The encampment was calm after a day of training and patrolling in the baking sun and exhausted but good-natured Orc grunts pushed the training dummies back into the storage sheds, picked up weapons and stabled wolves among the long shadows and deep ember highlights of dusk. Smoke rose from the cook fires springing up in various pits speckled around the canopied Orc Burrows and eager, hungry soldiers crowded around for their share of dinner. The scent of roasted meat wafted into Enoki's nostrils and his stomach growled voraciously, but the troops marched on past the mess line and headed toward a larger supply hut near the back of the camp.

"Awww you gotta be kiddin' me! We don' even get tah eat first? Come on Jyota I been livin' on bread an' jerky since I left my village! Dis be torture!" Enoki whined.

Ruminations of agreement rumbled down the line behind him, but none dared to speak out so boisterously. Gor'rik's tattered ears flicked, however, and he turned over his shoulder toward the young Troll.

"Well you should know better, I don't feed those not employed in my division!" he snorted, "You get dressed like a grunt, act like a grunt, feel like a grunt, only then you eat like a grunt around my campfire. You can never truly know what it feels like to join the brotherhood of battle until you are properly equipped! It's only natural! Uniforms add to the sense of unity, add to loyalty if you will! If you're all equipped the same, for the same cause then you look united and therefore FEEL united! It's an essential part of joining any battalion! Why, when I was just a young pup I remember getting my first pair of spaulders and my very first axe. A grinning axe, I called her 'Crescent Moon'… Or was it 'Wolf Fang'…? Or was it 'Wolf Moon'? 'Crescent Fang'? Either way! She was a crude, dull, miserable piece of equipment, but she was mine…"

The ears of Enoki and the rest of the Grunts in rank deafened themselves out of mercy while the grayed commander gestured wildly in the air with his arms as he continued his tirade. Jyota grimaced visibly at his flank and the Shaman choked back his laughter as he muttered to himself.

"Boy, he wasn' kiddin' bout dat blowhard bit…"

Despite Gor'rik's words, however, he already felt like a true soldier to his very core. Filing into the equipment hut and waiting amidst hulking, spiked, shadowy piles of leather harnesses tingled through his nerves with anticipation and filled his nostrils with the scent of musty leather, sweat, and acrid dust. One by one the men and women were handed the spiked shoulder pads, the harness, trousers, boots and gloves of Barrens patrol hued in a rustic, modest tan and orange and fringed in protective fur.

Enoki could scarcely keep himself from elbowing his way to each pile to take his first pick of the gear and claim the most perfect set as his own. He spent precious time at each item, examining every pair of gloves tailored for Troll hands, every ankle wrap, and every belt for his slender waist until piece by piece he completed his regalia. Once he held his uniform in his hands he shamelessly shed his traveling clothes with the others, stuffed them into his pack and began donning the vestments of his newly instated post. It was like a sacred ritual, a transformation, a metamorphosis, shedding the last reminders of his old life and his childhood and embracing the warrior's heart thrumming in his chest. He lashed the harness across his chest and fastened the heavy plates ridged in spikes to his broad shoulders as they fell with a thud and an ominous clank into place. The trousers fit snug to his chiseled thighs, and he wrapped his sinuous ankles and calves in the thick leather bindings and pulled the lacing tight. Lastly he sheathed his three-fingered hands into the gloves nearly reaching his elbows and coiled them tightly around the crude, crooked handle of a freshly sharpened axe.

Enoki lifted it, letting the weight guide the flashing blade in a blur of an arc over his wrist and with a hefty bang metal clashed with metal and the Shaman stood, axe roguishly over his shoulder and a dangerous grin on his lips.

"Now Enoki look about ready tah kick some ass! Ain' dat right? Jyota?" he boasted with a heavy-lidded sneer and a finger pointing to the distance, not needing to look behind him to know the Hunter had been fixated there staring at him.

Before Jyota's eyes the wide-eyed child had morphed into a wild, fledgling warrior with the same bold heart and fiery spirit that had stolen him long before.

"Yeah, Sparky…" he breathed in wonder, a distant, dreamy look of joy on his handsome face, "Yeah you do."

Enoki threw his head back with a peal of hearty, robust laughter and punched a fist in the air.

"Den de hell we all waitin' around for?" he shouted to his compatriots, "Now we a part'a dis outfit, now we entitled tah food! Let's go storm de camp!"

With a swelling roar of agreement from the others, Enoki and his faithful Raptor promptly lead the swaggering march out the door bathed in the ruddy light of dusk with axe glinting and long ponytail swaying behind him. Jyota stayed for a moment in the quiet wake of their famished rabble and Enoki's long, crooked shadow, smiling privately with his eyes shut. A soldier, he was not, nor was he a follower, but already he could see the new spirit of their sleepy battalion trapped in the tedium of Barrens patrol. He was wildfire finally unleashed, and even as Jyota peered out from the supply hut it spread. It was Enoki's voice he heard above all the others, his laughter, and his commanding presence among the other soldiers heartened by it.

The sun finally set on the young Shaman in his new home and as the diamond studded cobalt sky washed over the arid plains Jyota finally treaded silently to the campfire to be by his side. For that moment they could be together and lose themselves in the half drunken mirth of campfire tales and war stories. In the morning they would both rise with the sun and Jyota would walk beside him on his new path and his new journey toward his ever capricious horizon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note:** BETCHA THOUGHT I WAS DEAD HUH?? OMG this is like 5 billion years in coming I suck SO MUCH!!! My only defense is chapter 9 was originally MUCH LONGER. So long in fact, I decided it needed to be split into 2 chapters, so now I can give you the first part while I finish up the second, which now be chapter 10! So uh, yeah, enjoy! 8D

**Chapter 9**

The months passed, the season changed outside the land that knew only summer and bore witness to Enoki's transformation from a starry eyed youth to a honed, skilled fighter. Every morning he awoke at dawn with his compatriots and lined up for drills where he did push-ups, lifted weights, ran for miles in the baking sun and sparred until his darkening teal skin shone with sweat and his chiseled physique rippled beneath it. His once wiry form filled out with sleek, elegant muscle as the days went by and his prowess with an axe grew ever sharper and more deadly until he found that he could wield two weapons in either hand with unmatched deftness and cunning.

A natural, Gor'rik had commented upon seeing the brazen Troll gleefully knocking down sparring partners one after another. Each day saw him in his routine of brutal grace and deadly accuracy and before long, Gor'rik finally felt him prepared to handle simple missions with some of his fellow new Grunts.

Mornings still began with training and drills as it did with the entire battalion, but instead of ending only when he was given permission to drag his aching sorry self to the mess fires and then to slump into his hammock above a rather noisy Tauren, after a sparse lunch he and a small outfit of men would head out into the savannahs for patrol. Only then, did Enoki finally find the thrill he had been desperately searching for his entire life. Out in the wilds they were prone to attacks by roving bands of barbaric, reeking Centaur, shrieking Quilboar wielding curses and diseases as punishment for coming too close to their lands, or even the occasional Silithid mound, and it was there he faced off against real foes and sharpened his warrior's instincts.

The Centaur were the bulk of the problem and more often than not Enoki found himself at the wrong end of a storm cloud or an axe as he tried to gather water or fruit for the troops from an oasis. Fortunately for him, he was never without his razor sharp wit and resourcefulness with a hint of dumb luck for good measure. Just such an attack earned him legendary status among his barracks as the man who, in the heat of an ambush, managed to rope and ride a stampeding Centaur to eradicate the rest of the herd of hostile horsemen from his back. The troops would remember it far more glamorously than the almost accidental, foolhardy maneuver that it was, but because it had worked Enoki gladly retold the story again and again in increasingly grand detail.

Cleaning out the Silithid hives did nothing for his reputation other than to add the tale of him volunteering to scale one of the towering alien structures to get a better view of the infestation and toppling into a vat of gelatinous green goo when the top of it crumbled under his weight. Enoki emerged, drenched, and staring straight into the dripping maw of a furious brood mother and her hungrily hissing grubs, barely escaping with his hide intact and trailing slime down the dirt road as the hive chased him nearly back to the barracks. His compatriots were still howling with laughter once they caught up to him, and he could not help but laugh at himself as well as he paraded into camp for dinner that evening reeking to the sky and giving everyone a particularly intimate hug in greeting.

An encounter with the Quilboar Enoki would not remember so fondly, though it would become a favorite campfire story for weeks afterward. General opinion was that since Enoki had to be first to charge headlong into the squealing, snorting pig men, crackling with lightning and cackling with glee as they scurried away in terror, it was only natural that it was he who became the target of their most powerful conjurer and ended up sprawled on the ground in a flurry of feathers and claws clucking with rage. Without anyone in the group to dispel the transformation, through their laughter the rest of the soldiers completed the task of clearing out the camp, burning the briars, and gathering up what supplies they could salvage before plucking up their disoriented and fluttering chicken companion and carrying him back home. Luckily for them, the spell endured until they reached the Barracks, feigning solemnity and sorrow for their lost comrade and offering out a bird they had dubbed Enoki in memoriam. Jyota was mercifully elsewhere as gasps of horror and dumbfounded stares ensued, only for the chicken that had been peacefully pecking at the ground to burst in a flurry of magical smoke and leave a dazed Troll sprawled on the ground in its place.

It was hailed as a great practical joke by all but Enoki, especially since the infamous prankster of the camp had finally gotten some comeuppance. The Shaman of course being the one who was accustomed to laughing at others' expenses when they fell prey to his own jokes and mischief. With time and a little persuasion, however, he eventually saw the humor in it. He did have to admit it was well played, and he was never above laughing at himself since he was almost always the wounded party.

More frequently than he would have liked Jyota came back from his own missions to find Enoki in the medic hut, laughing and telling the tale of his newest debacle despite some gruesome resulting injury as his natural regeneration and the skilled healers patched him back together. Each time he would scold him, not only as his commanding officer but as his unspoken partner, and offer a prayer in Zandali to the Loa to keep him safe as well as a light kiss upon each new scar on his body or nick in his ears. It was a strange ritual to him at first but Jyota, as Enoki would discover, was a deeply pious man of faith.

His dedication to the ways and worship of the carnal Loa gods was unparalleled in any Troll residing in the remote, dusty landscape, or anywhere else in the world as Enoki heard muttered many a time. He learned rapidly that while on leave or not on duty, Jyota could be as spontaneous and playful as he had been on his short visit to Aykwani, but when he was in charge he was the most commanding and stern officer in the entire camp. He was also staunchly protective of him in light of his adventurous nature, and more than anyone else ground his teeth and devoured fingernails watching Enoki do whatever he pleased.

While the two of them struggled to maintain that healthy, distant, military dealings as soldier and captain in public, their more intimate relationship was kept as clandestine as possible. Comprised mainly of scant brushes of the hand as they passed each other, stolen kisses behind supply huts under the pretense of needing assistance carrying out boxes, and longing, seductive glances across ranks of fighters between them, it was bearable only for the occasional, tragically rare evening when they could leap onto the back of Jyota's raptor and ride out to a distant hill to eat dinner and watch the sunset alone. Those were nights they savored, laying on Jyota's saddle blanket in each other's arms, legs tangled, hands exploring, tusks locked and kissing as if the sun would never rise on them and shed light on their covert indiscretions. Countless uncomfortable, flushed and half aroused trips back to the camp always followed, and though Jyota had to steel himself against the desire in the coveted emerald green eyes he always managed to offer a hand to help Enoki off the back of his raptor, kiss him one last time away from prying eyes, and leave him at the door to his barrack watching disappointedly as he headed for his own private quarters.

Subtlety had never been one of Enoki's defining qualities, and why Jyota could so easily caress his cheeks and whisper sweet nothings in his ear one evening and then publicly scold him for his form being off in drills the very next morning was baffling to him. Especially since their closeness was obvious to most everyone and he was often the subject of loving harassment for his undefiled body in spite of their long term engagement. Not for lack of trying on his part, however, for as fiendishly as he hinted, flirted, suggested to his partner, Jyota remained markedly aloof and constantly skirted the issue with a plethora of excuses. While it was a simple matter of hot blooded desire to Enoki, privately Jyota was deeply torn between his unshakeable loyalty to the Horde and his flourishing adoration for the younger, passionate Troll that seemed to live always in the shadow of trouble. Reckless and impulsive as he was, the captain was terrified one day the troops he departed with really would come back glum and missing one loud, redheaded Shaman.

Enoki was the trickster, the mischief maker and merrymaker with an infinite arsenal of pranks, jokes, and sometimes accidental pratfalls that kept even the dullest of patrol duties lively, and things were only made worse the fateful day Enoki went to feed Zynn, and suddenly realized how big he had gotten. The crimson beast stood a good head taller than him and he had grown docile and alert, responding to his master's commands he had learned since he was a hatchling and almost beckoning the Troll to mount him with his keen golden eyes and hypnotically swishing tail. Visions of tearing across the Barrens astride his very own noble steed filling his mind, immediately Enoki dove headfirst into the supply huts and fished out the distinctive narrow saddle with loops meant to secure it to the back of a raptor.

Zynn was less than receptive at first of the strange device on his back, thrashing and chittering in protest and throwing it to the ground several times, but Enoki remained vigilant and stubborn and by midday the thing had been lashed into place and the bridle wedged between his deadly jaws. The raptor at last seemed to comprehend the concept of wearing something on his back and, trusting his imprinted master utterly, allowed him to clamber up into the saddle and seat himself. Enoki took up the reins, gazed out on the view from atop his mount, and Zynn took off like a flash with a piercing screech and no manner of warning whatsoever. Fully oblivious, the Troll hit the saddle with a thud, lost the grip on the leather thongs and threw his arms around Zynn's neck as the ring of huts, barracks and soldiers melted into a blur around him.

They tore around people, cooking pits, and tethered mounts. They leapt over boxes and crashed through weapon racks with soldiers yelping and diving out of the way of the rampaging raptor at every turn. Zynn's sinewy body glinted like flame and Enoki bobbed atop him cackling and whooping, leaving nothing but the echoes of his laughter, a trail of dust and a lashing tail in their wake as they carved an erratic path of destruction through the outpost. Enoki was oblivious to existence atop his raptor, swift as the wind and lighter than air as they breezed past the severe looking Orc woman that was leading the party he should have been lined up for that day just as she was screeching his name furiously for roll call for the fifth time. The only answer she received was the thundering of hooked talons in the dirt behind her accompanied by a thick, scaly tail to the face as she turned toward the sound, sending her spinning spectacularly face first into the ground. The troops exploded into laughter, the furious officer rose covered in dust and growling through her tusks, and Enoki disappeared into the distance.

He rode like a streak out into the wilds, heedless of duty, of obligation, knowing only the weightless exhilaration of riding tall in the saddle, wearing only his trousers, and sinking into the rhythm of Zynn's nimble feet that would be his own. The powerful creature beneath him moved with him, responded to him, and flew over the barren ground faster than even his very first raptor ride clinging to Jyota. Gradually, experimentally tugging on the reins and pinching his knees into his flanks he learned what would make Zynn veer right and left, what would make him slow down and even what would make him leap to clear rocks and gullies. Together in the heat of the stolen day they finally bonded, sealed their partnership as rider and raptor and ran until they exhausted themselves and the daylight over what could, to them, have been the entirety of Azeroth. He lost himself in the feeling of the wind in his hair and the sun on his face, lifting his arms and throwing his head back to let his partner carry him wherever his whims took them.

The day blissfully escaped him, and he stopped only when he had reached a high dune overlooking an oasis with the hazy mountains in the muddled distance and Enoki felt the old, familiar tug at his chest. If he squinted into the ruddy line severing earth from sky he could almost envision the mythical forest of the Elves he had been repeatedly warned against venturing into. He tried to envision what it would look like, a true Elven forest with its magical trees and springs, but he had never seen such a thing. There was nothing in his mind to even shape a day dream. He would have to see for himself, and for a brief moment he wondered if Zynn was fast enough to take him just to the border before sundown for a peek. Reality came back in a cruel instant to crush that thought, however, and the Shaman reluctantly turned his mount the opposite direction and spurred him into an easy lope back on the road toward home.

The duo returned in time for both dinner and a welcoming party of Gor'rik, the rest of the captains, and a seething livid Jyota. While Gor'rik and the others at his sides seemed grimly satisfied to keep their roster full and cast Enoki disapproving glares, Jyota remained with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes screwed shut as the joy endured on Enoki's face.

"Hey guys! Hey Jyota! Jyota guess what? I finally got tah ride Zynn an' it was awesome! Ain' dat awesome? Jyota? Hey! What's wit' all de-"

"Do you have ANY idea what you jes did, Enoki?!" Jyota interrupted furiously.

Enoki looked taken aback for only a brief moment before he regained his cheery countenance.

"You bettah believe I do! I went out tah feed Zynn dis mornin' an' I saw dat he was jes' as big, if not biggah den de oddah raptors in dere! So I went an' got me a saddle an' rode him all ovah! Aw Jyota it was amazin'! Zynn de fastest thing I evah seen! I swear it felt like we was fly-"

"Are you daft, mon!?" interrupted Jyota when he could endure no more of Enoki's oblivious enthusiasm, "You coulda been arrested for desertion you idiot! Not tah mention yah nearly destroyed half our supplies we had out today!"

Clearly not understanding the gravity of a charge of desertion or the value of the weapons, food, and armor he had bent and damaged, Enoki slid off the saddle and plopped down on the ground beside Zynn with one elbow leaning casually against him.

"Heh, naw it wasn' nothin' like dat! I jes took a day off is all. You all know good ol' Enoki wouldn' jes run off an' abandon dis place," he explained with his eyes closed, a crooked smirk, and a little finger twisted into his ear.

"A day off? A day OFF?! You a grunt in de military, mon! You don' GET days off! Dis ain' no shopkeepin' job you can jes put a sign up in de window all 'be back latah' while yah go off an' take a ride through de park! An' on top'a dat you left wit no weapon, no armor, an wit'out tellin' anyone where you was goin'! Dis ain' Mulgore anymore! Dis place be dangerous! De hell you think you was signin' up for? A game?!" the violet-haired Troll continued, fists clenched at his sides and quivering.

"Huh? Hey, dat ain' fair, I don' think dis be a game at all!" Enoki snapped indignantly.

"Well you sure as hell actin' like it! You don' take nothin' seriously, you reckless, you selfish, you don' follow orders. Do you even think at all before you jes' run in like a rampagin' Kodo beast?" the other continued, wiry Mohawk bristling.

Enoki raised a heavy brow, smiled and laughed with a shrug.

"Course I don't! Why de hell would I think? You spend too much time thinkin' an' not enough time actin' an' dat precious brain gonna get bashed in. Dat what gonna happen! You gotta do your thinkin' on yah toes!" he explained.

The younger Troll raised his fists and bounded on his toes in preparation for a mock battle, grinning cheerily until a stern hand lashed out, grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him close.

"Hey! What gives-!?"

"Dis ain' a joke, Enoki," Jyota hissed before he could finish, looming threateningly over him and digging his fingers into the soft underside of his arm.

"Ow! O-Okay okay, I get it! Jes lemme-" he sputtered, eyes wide and a disturbed expression of shock about him.

"No," the Hunter affirmed, golden eyes boring into his, "Enough is enough Enoki. I tired'a catchin' crap from de oddah captains for de way you behavin' an' for de work you don' get done, I tired a worryin' whether or not you gonna come back or not, an' I especially tired a' you not listenin' to a damn word anyone says to you an' makin' up yah own rules! Tomorrow you stay here at de Barracks, an' you scrub out all de stables good an' thorough! You don' leave, you don' suit up, you don' even eat wit'out my express permission, you hear me?"

Silence settled thickly between them with Jyota's fingers like talons around Enoki's wrist. His words lingered in their air like poison from which Enoki hunkered away with sharp teeth bared and eyes narrowed like a cornered animal. They stung against his lids as his ears flattened back against his skull, and with a feral growl in his throat he ripped his arm away from the shadowy stranger that had taken his beloved Hunter's place.

"Yes, sir…" Enoki hissed bitterly, "Jyota… Sir…"

That one word hit Jyota through the core so hard it crumbled all of his fury. Never before had he been addressed that way by the other unless it was in jest. He winced as Enoki hunched his shoulders, grabbed Zynn's reins and skulked past him in stone cold silence.

"Enoki…" Jyota ventured in a gentler tone, holding his hands out in a placating gesture, "You don' gotta be like dat. Come on, it ain' dat bad. I coulda done a lot worse things to you."

A flash of red hair cut across his vision and he found himself looking into the furious, tear glossed emerald eyes once more.

"_Worse things_?!" he sibilated, blue flashes of electricity glinting and cracking around him, "Ain' nothin' worse den actin' like my papa when you supposed tah be my… My whatevah de hell we are!"

"Your papa!" Jyota exclaimed in horror, "Enoki I punishin' you as your superior officer! Not like a damn parent! Loa!"

The frustrated Hunter threw his hands in the air and clapped one over his forehead, rubbing his temples soothingly.

"Would you get it through yah head already dat you got duties now? You got an obligation here! You ain' jes a body! Dere people here an' in Durotar, Sen'Jin, Orgrimmar, all countin' on you tah keep it safe! Families! Children! Dis ain' some adventure where you sweep in, get de guy an' den live happily evah aftah! You gotta take dis seriously!" he ranted.

Enoki had endured the fight with sparking anger, but with those final words his face instantly shifted to a wounded blankness. Silence wrapped tightly around his throat and though his lips parted several times to speak, no sound would issue forth.

"You… Think I ain' serious about protectin' dis place?" he finally asked in a small voice, taking a skittish step backward.

Groaning, his partner ran a hand through his frazzled Mohawk. He cursed in Zandali under his breath and reached out for Enoki tenderly.

"No! No I… Dat ain' it at all! Dat came out wrong, I jes' meant dat-"

Enoki dodged the hand heading for his shoulder deftly and slapped it away.

"Don' touch me!" the Shaman barked, eyes narrow and teeth bared, "You dunno de hell you sayin'! I fightin' jes' as hard as anyone out dere!"

Jyota pulled his hand back, hurt.

"I-I know dat," he sputtered defensively, "But you can't jes' do whatevah pleases you!"

"Why?" Enoki demanded without hesitation, arms crossed over his chest with a cocky sneer, "I thoughta stuff no one else would, I cut down de horse men an' de pig men jes' like everyone else. I keep my ears sharp fah de sound of Alliance! But it ain' about dat… It because I jes' yah cute little Sparky, an' I ain' no soldier right?"

"Dat ain' true an' you know it!" came the seething retort, "I treatin' you like a soldier an' you get pissed like I babyin' you! I treat you like a lovah and you wanna be treated like a Soldier!"

"Den what am I?!" Enoki finally roared at the top of his lungs, the force of it leaving him breathless for a moment before he dared speak again, "What am I tah you…? Jyota?"

Jyota opened his mouth to answer but quickly found the answer was not as swift to his lips as he thought. He croaked, he hesitated and grit his teeth, but his tongue could not be persuaded. There was no name for what Enoki was to him. There was no explanation. The Shaman was not lover, he was not friend, he was not subordinate. To him still he was just Enoki. Enoki whom he could only watch and stutter as his heart broke and registered clearly on his face.

"Dat what I thought," he whispered with a defeated nod and turned around to begin walking back to the barracks.

"E-Enoki! Wait! I-It not dat! It complicated, mon! You can't be askin' me a loaded question like dat an' jes expect an easy answer! Enoki! Enoki! Sparky!" Jyota called after him, but to no avail. Enoki was gone.

He had nothing more to say to the Hunter, though through the buzzing in his skull he wondered himself just what Jyota was to him. He had been his ultimate fantasy he never even knew he had; the tall dark and handsome stranger riding on a vicious raptor and quite literally sweeping him off his feet. He had been his constant obsession and the object of so many lost afternoons, sleepless nights and lovelorn sighs. He was the treasure at the end of his journey, the man who was supposed to open his arms for him and show him the ways of love and life; a man who would be his partner for all time.

However, the reality of Captain Jyota was jarringly nothing at all like those romantic visions he had watched against the canvas of the boundless blue skies of Mulgore and against the darkness of his eyelids. Mentally, Enoki could manage to wrap his brain around Jyota's reasoning for keeping their relationship distant but that hardly dulled the ache in his chest. He forced himself to understand at least for the moment and calm his infuriated nerves, to smile and joke with the cooks as he went to gather a plate of food for dinner, but the cloud of fury and sorrow still hung around his head as he slumped down on a log beside the fire. The others gathered in a circle enjoying their evening meal were startled and gazed wide-eyed at their young, feisty companion as he hungrily shoveled food into his mouth without a word. A silent Enoki, they knew, was an unhappy Enoki. An Enoki without Jyota at his side was an ominous sign as well.

"Hey, Enoki!" a bright-eyed Orc male called cheerily, "What's up? We haven't seen you all day and now you come home looking like… You've been discharged or something!"

Ears all around the campfire pricked up and curious eyes glanced over toward the redhead. Only one of his nicked teal ears swiveled back up in response.

"Eh? De hell you get an idea like dat mon?" he asked with a forced smirk, "Dey ain' getting' rid'a Enoki jes yet!"

One possibility for the foul mood nixed, silent urging filtered about the others in earshot and an energetic Tauren woman with mottled white and black fur happily perched herself beside him to try her hand.

"Oh…? Well that's good! You looked kind of upset or something! But where's Captain Jyota? Doesn't he usually come and eat with you?" she inquired in a sweet, airy voice.

The forced grin evaporated instantly from Enoki's face, replaced by a bitter scowl.

"He busy," he retorted curtly, cramming a crusty bread roll in his mouth to discourage further inquiry.

Rumors still being rumors, and no one being certain Enoki and Jyota were still a legitimate item, a morsel of a hint was enough to draw the attention of would be eavesdroppers like moths to a flame. Several more Soldiers discreetly abandoned their own conversations and leaned closer to hear. Tail swishing and determination blazing the Tauren gasped and put a hand to her chest in thinly veiled mock concern.

"Too busy to eat with his troops? But he always comes out here with us! And he… Usually talks to you last so I just assumed…" she continued, drawling on her words.

"Uhhhh…" Enoki blurted, brows raised incredulously, "Well dat ain' always true, who said he always talks to me last?"

"Oh you know! No one SAID it but… We all just sort of just happened to notice that Captain Jyota consults with you pretty often! And that he always calls you out for assignments… And to speak to you privately… And yeah you get into trouble a lot so, I mean, it's probably nothing! Right…?"

The grinning Tauren woman leaned in further, her palms on her knees and her oaken brown irises alight with inquisitiveness. Enoki glanced sidelong at her and backed away slowly from the muzzle getting uncomfortably near his face, only to shift his eyes to the opposite side and see the crowd craning toward him with the same look of eager hunger for a confession. On all sides he was surrounded, all eyes and ears focused solely on him awaiting his reply with baited breath. He shrank down under the sea of eyes and the pressure of their anxiousness, and finally the last thread of his already thinned nerves frayed and snapped.

"FINE!" Enoki howled, sparking with electricity and slamming his tin dinner plate on the ground, "We had a fight, okay?! You win! You all happeh now?! Nosy assholes…"

He folded his arms across his chest and sank down into himself, lower lid of his eye twitching and lip curled over his sharp teeth with a guttural growl. Even still, the troops only gasped in delight and crowded closer with the truth finally revealed.

"Awww, so it is true then!" the same Tauren crooned delightedly, clasping her hands against her cheek, "How cute! Oh Enoki don't worry about that! All couples have fights every once in a while! It couldn't have been that bad!"

A resounding laugh rumbled through the crowd in agreement. Enoki just blushed deeper and screwed his eyes shut.

"Yeah, yeah whatevah! No biggie. Don' you people have bettah things tah do den stick your noses intah oddah people's drama?" he spat distastefully.

"No," a smug looking, voluptuous female Troll with electric pink hair in dreadlocks across the fire from him answered without hesitation, "Ain' nothin' here but Barracks romance an' heartbreak tah chase de boredom away!"

"You just think that because you've been in the hammock of just about every man here," a sudden and distinctly masculine joking interjection came from somewhere, followed by a wave of chuckles.

Unfazed, the woman smirked and nonchalantly crossed her arms over her abdomen to give her ample bosom a teasing lift.

"Yah only sayin' so 'cause I nevah been tah yours sweetie," she purred before turning back to Enoki with a predatory grin and long lashes lowered over her smoldering ruby irises, "Though you anoddah story, broddah, if Jyota ain' puttin' out, I be happy tah pop dat cherry a' yours…"

She pursed her lips and blew him a kiss off her palm which Enoki promptly toppled off his log bench to avoid.

"Fah! You wouldn't know what tah do wit me if you got me!" he countered confidently, even though he was hauling himself up from the dirt and blushing redder than his hair.

She responded with a hearty laugh and took the opportunity to turn her attentions on another hapless male who looked all too eager to accept them. The Tauren woman sidled closer to Enoki and wrapped a, thick, furry arm around his shoulders as she began pontificating about what she and her husband did when they had a fight and conversation among the soldiers slowly died down to the normal chatter. Enoki listened politely, surprised to realize she had some earnest advice for him, and he found himself in better spirits by the time the fires were doused and everyone began the weary trek to bed. Crawling into his hammock and tugging his wool blanket over his aching body sore in ways he had never been sore before was bliss, but when he closed his eyes to sleep he could think only of Jyota's furious words toward him, and the degrading punishment that awaited him upon the dawn.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note:** HOLY SHIT WHAT?!?! ANOTHER UPDATE? Yeah you heard right! See! I told you there was a lot of what was supposed to be chapter 9! I already had like, 85% of this written when I decided to split the chapters so you one person casually walking by gets to see the rest of it sooner than expected! So uh yeah! The moment we've all been waiting for! The consummation!!

Wow I blew it on the sex scene... OTL Enjoy anyway!

**Chapter 10**

Enoki spent the night tossing and turning in his hammock all the while dreaming brief snatches of mundane and frustrating dreams. He woke several times, hoping that his fight with Jyota had been one of them, but growling when he remembered that part had been very real and burrowing back into his pillow to make the churning in his gut cease. It seemed like mere moments of sleep before the hot, yellow light of dawn filtered into the barracks, the morning drums sounded and the soldiers leapt from bed to put their gear on for the day. Enoki's effects would remain untouched, however, for the moment he swung his feet over the edge of his hammock, yawning and stretching, one of Jyota's fellow Captains, a burly smug older Tauren, was already at his side and thrusting a pair of filthy trousers, a tunic, and a shovel at him with an amused smirk.

They glared at each other silently. Fury flared like an aura around the shaman, the Tauren officer struggled to keep his laughter at bay, and Enoki finally snatched the garments from him with a foul oath in Zandali. A bolt of lightning struck the ground as the howling Tauren escaped the wrath of the spurned grunt to attend to his own duties, and moments later Enoki emerged looking like a street urchin clutching the shovel like a weapon. Titters of laughter bubbled through the departing battalions, but the venomous emerald eyes quickly turned their heads back to their tasks and Enoki stomped his way to the stables.

The only direction he received from the master there was to make a pile atop the rest of the compost, and to have it done by nightfall when the animals would return. Then, he was left alone, watching longingly while the rest of the troops marched away from the barracks in perfect single file lines and a curious Kodo Beast left behind for the day craned over the fence to his pen and munched on his ponytail. The bright red hair was halfway down his gullet before Enoki even realized what had happened and nothing short of smacking the creature in the face with the broad side of his shovel would persuade it to set him free. Hair jutting and dripping behind him, temper already blazing, with shovel in hand, Enoki finally drew a deep breath, wrinkled his nose and began shoveling out the stables.

His day passed slowly in reeking tedium accompanied solely by the clingy kodo and a sickly wolf left behind to get over his stomach ailments. The manure pile towered to the baking sun with Enoki shoveling out each stable with a unique and increasingly creative swear for each. As it grew tall and formidable, so too did his foul mood, and it was mollified only when he cleaned out the stable where Zynn was tied and spent a few stolen moments stroking and cooing to his beloved mount. The fury toward punishment became bearable then with his companionship, but not even the smooth ruby scales and the loving clicks and whistles, however, could soothe his rage toward Jyota.

That day, after their explosion of anger and pent frustration, Jyota was nowhere to be found. He had not come after him the night before to try and smooth things over before they went to bed. The Captain had lacked the courage to face him that morning and dole out the punishment he had levied in person. There was no sign of him even returning from duty as the sun set and the stables were filled with fresh hay. He was not among the shadowy clusters of soldiers dotting the horizon returning from a day of long missions, and even after they had all arrived, nary a soul arrived to relieve him of his post. Jyota had vanished that day as if one of the Spirits he so devotedly worshipped.

With no one to give him permission to leave, as the Hunter had made certain to impress upon him was necessary, aggravation coiled tightly in his gut, winding his patience to the breaking point as he waited with fists clenched. He waited for what seemed like hours, until, quivering with wrath, Enoki could take no more. He hurled the shovel to the ground, ripped off the spare tunic, and vaulted onto Zynn's saddle, digging his heels in and sending the raptor sprinting off as fast as his clawed feet could carry them to the nearest oasis.

The moment it came into view, sparkling in the ruby sunset and rippling in the balmy breeze, Enoki threw himself into the pool of sun warm, tranquil blue water straight from Zynn's saddle with a noisy splash. Relief instantly washed over him with the fresh, clean water, and his body drifted down to the soft mud at the bottom, eyes closed and trailing bubbles from his mouth to the surface while the reptile watched curiously. His emerald eyes slowly opened in the blue depths and watched the serene dance of the reeds and tiny silvery schools of fish. The water seemed to stretch out for an infinity before him as it caressed and cradled his aching, filthy body in reply to his silent pleas.

A gentle current seemed to encircle the Shaman in the embrace of the pure, tranquil pool. It washed away the dirt and grime, cleansed his body and quenched the raging fires of fury deep within him. Enoki felt peace at last alone in the silence of the water, suspended in its ebbing fluidity and as one with it, and he stayed as long as the breath in his lungs would allow. When it ran out he rocketed to the surface and burst into the cool, dusky air with a cheerful gasp and an arc of wet, fiery red hair glistening in the dying light.

Enoki slicked back his soaked hair and shook it free with a faint smile finally on his lips. At last he unwound his fury, his tension and his anger as he scrubbed himself thoroughly free of the filth and stench of his punishment and left the oasis on Zynn's back standing in the stirrups of the saddle to dry his crimson locks in the wind. He arrived back at camp on time to be first in line for dinner around the fires, and despite the fact Jyota had yet to show his face, he was calm as he seated himself on his usual log and greedily demolished his meal.

The long day was at last, mercifully over. He was in calmer, if not happier, spirits, full, and clean, and he tossed his tin dish atop the pile, ready to trudge to bed to get back to work in the morning. Yet the moment he stood and stretched his arms over his head, all it took to destroy the tranquility he had worked so hard to build was a soft voice from behind him.

"Sparky…?"

He whirled around toward the call of the nickname only one person used, heart racing, stomach bottoming out, and stunned emerald eyes meeting with sorrowful amber as he faced Jyota again.

"J-Jyota… Sir…" he stammered before he scowled angrily, ears flattening back against his skull and looking away with his arms crossed haughtily over his chest, "Look, I know yah said not tah eat until yah came tah tell me it was okay but screw dat mon! I ain' gonna starve tah death jes cause you mad at me! I did yah damn punishment an' I-"

"Sparky, shut up fah jes' one second!" Jyota interrupted desperately, "Sheesh! I ain' here tah punish you again, okay? I… I wanna talk. Alone. In my personal quarters."

Immediately the Shaman snapped back, his jaw going slack and his arms dropping to his sides in sheer disbelief. Enoki had never once received an invitation to Jyota's personal quarters, never seen the inside, never even seen which door of the officer's building belonged to him. Jyota's quarters had been an impenetrable fortress where he could keep himself as detached and aloof as he wanted, unseen by even those believing themselves closest to him. To be finally invited in was a new level of intimacy he scarcely hoped he could believe in.

"Y-You mean…?" Enoki breathed.

"Yeh…" Jyota remarked, bowed his head and strode soundlessly past him, arms crossed in the small of his back, "I goin'. You can come, or you can go tah bed. It up tah you."

Leaving his simple offer hanging like fog in the atmosphere, Jyota walked away. Enoki stayed behind for a moment, stunned, but absolutely clear on which option he was going to choose. Getting his feet to follow what his mind was screaming at them to do was a somewhat more difficult task, but deep within himself he found the resolve to move and shuffled after the Hunter toward the Officers' bunker.

Enoki caught him up just as he was rounding the circular structure to the back entrances, yet stayed a skittish few paces behind him to follow to the door lit by two flaming braziers on either side that he ultimately pushed open. With a solemn expression Jyota stepped aside and held the entrance for him, watching with frustratingly emotionless golden eyes as Enoki slipped inside.

The interior, although simple, was far more lavish than the cramped and impersonal barracks where he slept every night crammed into hammocks stacked two or three soldiers high. The small room held one proper wooden framed bed with a mattress, a cast iron fire pit where a pleasant conflagration crackled and snapped against the incoming cold Barrens night, and a desk which was littered with official documents, letters and scrolls with a tattered map of Azeroth pinned to the wall above it. A plush cushion lay on the floor beside the desk for Sharvari, but the panther was nowhere to be seen as Jyota quietly followed Enoki inside and shut the door behind him.

The Hunter at last turned his eyes to the Shaman and gestured toward the bed.

"You can sit if you-"

"Cut de crap Jyota," Enoki promptly snapped, his tone deadly even, "Whatevah you wanna say tah me, say it. I don' need none'a dis warm fuzzy comforting shit."

Jyota's expression softened in surprise, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Shoulda known bettah," he mused, "Okay, de direct approach it is. Look Sparky, I know I hurt yah feelin's alright? But I been thinkin' about what you said an' I realize… I ain' doin' a very good job a' keepin' up bein' yah captain an' bein'… Wit' you… At de same time."

The air grew tenser between them as Enoki's façade of anger crumbled swiftly away and morphed into the hurt he was truly feeling. His arms fell loosely at his sides, his ears stood upright, and his heart raced with a muted expression of the intense longing he had dared not voice.

"Damn right 'bout dat," he whispered painfully, gritting his sharp teeth and grinding his jaw.

"I know, I know. But it be hard yanno? I got rank here, I got rank in Orgrimmar, an' I know yah don' know how de military works really but I can't be seen givin' one soldier more attention den anoddah. It ain' right. An' even though we both know I wouldn't treat you any different on de battlefield, someone might think I'd put yeh outta harm's way, or protect yeh somehow like I wouldn't protect anyone else. You get it?" Jyota asked.

"Kinda…" Enoki admitted spitefully, though no more comforted, "But whatcha point? Dat you still gotta treat me like a kid tah save face? Tah compensate fah sneakin' off wit me?"

Jyota's answer was his hands cupped adoringly over the Shaman's cheeks and tilting his chin to gaze into his eyes.

"You ain' nothin' like a kid tah me, Enoki…" he breathed, unwavering golden irises boring intensely into baffled emeralds, "You anythin' but a kid."

Enoki blushed, breathless, frozen to the spot under Jyota's memorizing stare.

"H-Huh? De hell you-" he began, but Jyota's lips against his sealed off any further objection.

Enoki's eyes remained wide open as his prone body hit the wall with his wrists pinned to it beneath Jyota's rough, calloused hands on either side of him. He snarled his protest and tossed his head to lock their tusks and forcibly butt him away, gasping for breath and red in the face.

"Wh-Wha… Jes' what de hell you think you tryin' tah pull here?!" he demanded as Jyota slunk smugly back.

He thumbed his flushed lips coyly with his dark lids heavy and seductive over his cat-like irises.

"Tryin' tah prove to you I don' think'a you as a kid, ain' dat whatcha want?" he inquired smoothly.

Clueless, Enoki's expression remained utterly unchanged.

"But…" the redhead insisted, "But aincha-"

"Ain' I mad at you?" Jyota finished for him, reaching out to cup his face preciously in his hands again, "No… I was, but not no more. Sparky. I was jes' freaked out, I lost my tempah an' I said some things I didn' mean. I want you here wit' me… I wanna be closah to you. I want…"

Jyota's voice grew softer, unfocused and dim as his lips brushed over Enoki's again. His eyes slid shut. His hands glided down the Shaman's powerful form where his arms encircled his waist steadfastly and finally, Enoki happily surrendered. His own arms lifted from the wall and draped over Jyota's shoulders as his lids closed the curtain of blissful darkness over his eyes and their lips met in a slow, smoldering kiss ripe with gleaming embers of raw desire.

"I want… You," Jyota moaned huskily against his lips.

Enoki could only muster the breath to reply with a small, demanding whisper of, "Jyota..."

His body ached for the touch long denied him, his fingers clutched at Jyota's sinewy back, and his sex and soul burned for the quenching touch of his lover.

"About damn time…"

The Hunter's hands were as swift and deadly as his lips as he kissed the smirk off of Enoki's lips ravenously and finally indulged in the climactic release of his pent yearning that had only intensified the more he denied it. He grasped Enoki's simple tunic from behind and ripped it from the lithe body which forced the lovers to part only for the moment Jyota needed to tear the coarse fabric over his head and throw it carelessly away. It flew across the room and hit the floor in a crumpled heap, followed soon after by the Hunter's own harness and pauldrons clamoring at their nimble feet as they tore at each other's clothing until nothing remained but their trousers. Enoki's heels eventually hit the bed and he collapsed to the mattress with his arms still fiercely around Jyota's neck to keep him close and his emerald eyes dark and hooded with unknown need.

For so long he had burned to touch every inch of his body, but every time Jyota would push him away. Up until that night he had rebuked every last one of his eager advances, quashed every attempt at seduction, and ignored every tease. Iron though he believed his will to be, even Jyota could not deny his own desires indefinitely. He greedily allowed Enoki's hands to explore over his broad shoulders and map over his chest scarred from years of battle. Newly weapon-calloused fingertips brushed over the dark blue nubs of nipples gathered against the impressive musculature with growing hunger and Jyota slowly knelt on the bed around his hips to sink into that intoxicating touch he had long denied for himself. He too, gazed down at the feral form of the teal skinned Shaman with his red hair like ribbons of fire across his bed sheets and caressed over his shoulders and chest. Finally able to touch each other, finally able to just give in, to surrender to their desire, their bodies twined and ached for closeness.

It was like touching one another for the very first time. Gone was the guilty hindrance of their illicit intimacy monitored and truncated by duty. Vanished was the feeling that they could not ignore time, ignore the setting sun and the shadow of the barracks slowly creeping over their privacy and forget that Gor'rik demanded them back with punctuality. Finally their feelings, their passions and desires glowed so bright they could look into each other's eyes and be blissfully blind to everything that had stopped them before. Finally, they were free.

Enoki's impatient hands found Jyota's belt, which was something they had never dared touch before, but he leaned up to steal his lips in another kiss with a grin and no more apprehension. He fumbled with the buckle blindly and every bar of metal and strap of leather distinctly not Jyota's warm, blue skin he managed to wrench open with a pleasing clatter of metal. He pulled it slowly from around his waist and swiveled his arm over the side of the bed where he let it slither from between his fingers to the ground. Then, despite the smooth and flawless opening act to their first time together, he paused as primal instinct and basic knowledge came to an end. A hunch and a feeling bade his fingers hook into the waistband of the dusty, military leggings clinging to Jyota's slender hips and thighs, but he gently urged him away.

Enoki offered no question and sat up on his elbows to watch as Jyota, in his stead, ceremoniously loosed his pants and guided them off of his hips. The redhead's heart raced as ruddy leather unveiled perfect flesh, his cheeks flushed, and his body sang with tingling delight as finally, after all his dreams, fantasies and desires, he finally gazed upon the naked, raw form of his fiercely beautiful Hunter. His blue skin was riddled in scars that rippled and shone over his powerful musculature underneath honed by years of battle and experience. Angular masculinity shaped every chiseled facet of his sleek and lanky body from his broad shoulders to the extreme angle down to his narrow hips where a brilliant blaze of violet lay stark against his abdomen and wreathed his half erect and impressive manhood nestled between his legs.

Jyota's body was perfect in every way he could imagine; powerful, ferocious and feral, endowed with both length and girth. Knowing Enoki had never had the privilege to truly view another man naked in an intimate way, he gave his virginal partner the time he yearned for to simply look upon his statuesque physique. The redhead's hands still hovered skittishly for a moment before Jyota even as emerald eyes twinkled in their roaming of the toned musculature, but with a deep breath through his nose Enoki reached out to touch him. His toil roughened fingers ghosted over the erection standing proud before him and he gasped in shock at the soft, velveteen feeling of the veined skin not his own. Jyota's expression shifted to mute enjoyment of Enoki's hands on his member, something he had long fantasized and dreamed about, and his once regally strong body wilted in bliss atop him.

He cupped the Shaman's face in his hands and carded his fingers into the wild fringe of hair along his jawline, kissing him deeper, slower, and thrusting his hips into the tightening fingers around his manhood. Enoki returned the kiss, but he allowed his experienced partner the control he wanted as he blindly stroked Jyota's length and felt it quiver and throb in delight. The Hunter's hands caressed down the younger male's sides as he toyed with him and discovered the delights of his sinewy, masculine flesh. As he grew more and more comfortable touching him and being beneath him, nude and primal, Jyota finally felt confident in gently urging Enoki's pants off of his hips.

The redhead gave a short gasp of surprise as his nethers were suddenly bared, but quickly calmed himself and spread his legs invitingly as he gave himself to Jyota with a smirk.

"I guess yah alreadeh know I nevah done dis before," Enoki whispered.

Jyota flashed a handsome, comforting grin down toward his lover and leaned over him to reach into the corner of his bed frame where he had stashed a small vial of rich golden oil.

"'Course I do," he replied as he uncorked it and generously lathered the sweet smelling contents over his palm, "An' I honahed you'd give yahself tah me. Dis somethin' precious, an' I promise, I will worship you de way you deserve an' make it a night yah won' evah forget."

Jyota's lamp-like golden eyes hooded beneath his lids darkened with passion and he clasped his arousal in his oiled hand, stroking himself slowly and displaying himself to Enoki who only rolled his eyes with a scant smile and blushed.

"You gonna do me, or you jes' gonna keep babblin' about it, like yah always do wit everythin'?" he murmured amusedly.

He felt Jyota's warm hands slide tenderly over his cheeks again and nuzzled into them with a needy, wanton smile.

"Oh wit' de utmost'a pleasure! Tonight, I gonna make yah feel like yah de onleh man in de world, Sparky," he breathed, leaning down and butting their foreheads together, "An' from now on…"

Enoki could not have stopped the sudden racing of his heart even if he wanted to and he nuzzled his forehead into Jyota's, bringing their lips mere inches from one another. It had felt like eons in coming, but finally, Jyota was his. He twined his arms slowly around his neck and pulled him bravely close, wanting him, needing him, not knowing what he was about to experience but trusting him completely. Enoki had never feared the unknown, he had craved it all of his life. In his sleepy village in Mulgore he had spent his days and nights looking at the horizon and dreaming of things he never thought could be. He simply had to reach out and take what he wanted, and that night, all he wanted was Jyota.

The Hunter's sinewy body undulated against his, coming ever closer and treading cautiously. Enoki's legs parted around his waist and urged Jyota to come to him. His lips sought the comfort of the older man's, and his insistent embrace brought him so close he could feel the radiating heat of the erection brushing tantalizingly against his haunches. His body tingled with anticipation, for that sensation was starkly real and the moment he had been yearning for was right within his grasp. The breath in his lungs hastened, his own loins burned with desire and engulfed his being, their tusks locked together, and in one, smooth, utterly glorious movement Jyota thrust his hips and carefully urged just the head of his member past the quivering ring of muscle.

Enoki hissed in pain at the initial penetration and threw his head back into the pillows with his fingers digging into the hard muscles of Jyota's back and his toes gripping the sheets viciously. It was the only indication of his discomfort he dared give, for he knew Jyota would stop if he thought he was hurting him and he was stubbornly insistent on completing the coupling ritual they had begun. The older Troll halted his progress anyway and showered Enoki's lips and neck in slow, comforting kisses instead. In the back of his mind he cursed himself for getting too eager and failing to prepare Enoki's body for his intrusion beforehand, but their love had been so long in coming all he wanted was to be buried to the base of his throbbing girth in the plush, wet heat of Enoki with his limbs twined around him and his name screamed in ecstasy from his lips.

"You okay?" Jyota panted softly before kissing Enoki's mouth messily.

Enoki returned the kiss with a nod as he forced himself to relax, to endure the foreign pain and wait for the pleasure he was certain would come, and determined to claim for his own.

"I fine," he breathed adamantly back against the seeking lips of his lover, "Don' stop, don' you dare stop…"

The kiss to affirm the Shaman's desire was hard and bold with flared nostrils and racing heart, giddy on Jyota's scent and his touch and bucking his hips down to beckon him deeper inside of him. Something deep at his core throbbed and pleaded for more and Jyota answered the silent cries of his body with a slow, loving thrust. The dull and aching pain intensified as he delved cautiously deeper and sweat began to bead on his furrowed brow, but gradually, as Jyota pulled carefully back and moved forward once more the pain began to crumble into blissful pleasure.

His body relaxed, accepted the thick hot girth deeper and deeper with its slowly rising cadence of passion, and fell into the omnipotent rhythm of Jyota's lovemaking. Enoki succumbed to the sheer majesty of it, rocked at the mercy of Jyota's powerful and skilled nethers and the solid, pounding column of masculinity seeking the sweet spot within. He melted to nothing but a greedy, wanton creature of desire in his arms feeling nothing but pleasure in every nerve and fiber of his body. His nails raked lines of rapture down Jyota's back to bring him ever closer, his lanky teal body shone with sweat and wrapped hungrily around the sturdy blue flesh of the Hunter, and his moans rose in glorious crescendo along with his enjoyment.

Jyota too, found himself mewling and gasping Enoki's name in utter rapture of the eager response to him, and the greedily clenching body swallowing the entirety of his aching, dripping sex. He had not fathomed the depths of his desire for the wild, untamed redhead until he had him in his bed at long last, acting with nothing less than what he had expected of such a primally visceral person; pure, unfettered hunger. Despite the fact that Enoki's virginity had only just been claimed, his body knew in an instinctive way what it wanted, what it craved, and the pool of heavy precum spreading over his sleek abdomen and flanks from his own swollen member was more than proof he was enjoying what Jyota was bestowing upon him.

The sight of him like that, a smug, cocky, standoffish soldier at best, clawing, clenching, and silently begging him for more was nothing short of pure eroticism and made Jyota's being soar with the intoxicating feeling of power and dominance. A grin spread over his lips with the temptation to tease, but that time, for their first time together, simple pleasure would suffice.

Together they both rode the waves of physical ecstasy that took Enoki to entirely new realms of feeling, both drenched in sweat, muscles rippling under shimmering skin and chests heaving with passion drunk breath. Tusks and lips locked when in their blind searching they met once again in the midst of their reckless ascent to the utmost height of pleasure. Jyota's hips pumped with steady force in the tangle of their bodies, in complete control of his own as Enoki's innocent body fell against his onslaught to the sweet spot at his core and rendered him at his mercy.

The swelling, leaking curve of the thick girth finally reaching his center made the Shaman's vision explode in white points of light and his body, which had never known such a touch, reach the utmost in arousal with one devastating blow. Before he could even call his lover's name the same beat sounded again within him and with all of the force that had swelled and coiled in his gut Enoki's arousal lurched and released with white hot orgasm. Threads of his own scalding white essence spattered over his writhing teal body and he threw his head back into the pillows with a wildly euphoric scream and a weary satisfied grin.

The scream dissolved into tiny, accommodating mewls of enjoyment in his afterglow as Jyota hurriedly ground out the last of his pleasure into his quivering, spent body and released as well. Hot, wet seed filled him with torrential force and he echoed Jyota's climactic vocalization in kind with the satisfying sensation of the thick, sticky fluid coating his abused body. Exhausted then, Enoki could only cling around Jyota's neck, trembling slightly with the complete and total drainage of his essence.

His lover too, gasped for breath in the aftermath of their coitus, sweat trickling down his temples and violet Mohawk loose and wild with dampness. Slowly, carefully he pulled back and eased his flaccid member free of the quivering confines that had stroked out his orgasm so sweetly with a soft moan against Enoki's lips. He hissed again at the feeling of being empty and the oddly pleasurable ache spreading through his body, as well as the hot rivulets of cum trickling over his haunches. His dark lashes parted and he opened his eyes only a crack, glittering green eyes alight with joy.

"Jyota," he murmured, a slow, smug grin spreading over his face, "You been withholdin' DAT all dis time? You jerk…"

Jyota snorted and laughed heartily, and let loose with a loud moan as he collapsed beside Enoki with an arm over his chest.

"Well it ain' exactly easy tah sneak off an' mess around in de military, as you may have noticed," he retorted.

"Sure it is! I alreadeh getting' ideas on how tah drag your ass off!" Enoki chirped with a naughty glint in his eye, even as he curled into Jyota's arms with a wince.

Every muscle in his body suddenly felt overtaxed and sore and he groaned as he buried his face into the warm, sweaty chest of the Hunter.

"Not tomorrow though…"

Jyota chuckled and shook his head. It would probably be while before Enoki would feel up for sex again, but it hardly mattered. That night they had finally answered all of their enigmas. That night they had proclaimed to each other and silently to the universe that they were one, at least for that moment, and that there need be no more question, or worry, or doubt. There was no longer a need for propriety and shyness, they had crossed the final threshold and at last could fall asleep where they truly longed to be; in each other's arms.

"No… Not tomorrow," Jyota replied, his hands lazily massaging over Enoki's damp buttocks, "But whenevah you want, Sparky. I yours."

Sweet redness spread over Enoki's cheeks. His eyelids grew heavy and his body settled into Jyota's embrace in a gentle, relaxed curl where his muscles had no reason to protest.

"Mine," he echoed as the numb darkness of sleep reached out to claim him.

The elder Troll nodded mutely and closed his eyes as well, planting one last kiss on Enoki's lips.

"Yours. Sleep jes' a little in here, den you get up, clean yahself up an' sneak back intah yah own bunk for reverie, got it? I don' want no trouble fah lettin' you sleep in here, even Gor'rik would have my head," he whispered.

A nod was the only response granted to him, but he took it for what it was and settled down into the bed with the covers tucked protectively around them both. Enoki was asleep and snoring softly with one arm draped crookedly across his waist before Jyota could even get himself comfortable and he laughed silently to himself. He had been wary to get close to the Shaman, but somehow, even against his better judgment Enoki had done a solid job of wedging his way stubbornly into his heart.

As he held him, asleep, looking mischievous and smug even in his slumber, Jyota felt happier than he had in quite some time. Though he knew all too well the grim reality of loving someone employed in such a dangerous and mercurial position as the military, Enoki made it all worthwhile. Every moment spent with the teen who lived every day like it would be his last refreshed the old Hunter's battle weary philosophies and staunch military mind. Thinking of Enoki, his smile, his laugh, and his touch now that he knew what it truly felt like, Jyota followed him into the realm of dreams with the same crooked grin on his lips.

The next thing either of them knew, warm rays of morning sunlight were latticed over their still tangled bodies and the sound of the morning war drums was sounding through the entire encampment. Enoki slept blissfully unaware, though one nicked ear filled with simple rings flicked in annoyance, but Jyota, being the trained and loyal Captain that he was, sat bolt upright at the sound.

Normally he would have been awake since just before dawn and would have simply rose gracefully from bed, called Sharvari to his side and taken his armor from his rack to dress and get ready to run drills, but that morning a feeling of dread as heavy as the unfamiliar weight beside him took hold of the normally calm Hunter. Enoki had failed to return to his proper place in the barracks. His golden eyes went wide to see whom he still accidentally shared his bed with, his heart stopped in his chest, and once he had enough consciousness about him to realize what time it was he forcibly shoved his sleeping lover out of the bed.

"SHIT! Shit! Enoki get de hell up! We ovahslept! Yah have ANY idea what time it is?!" Jyota bellowed, leaping from bed himself and gathering up Enoki's effects.

Enoki hit the ground and awoke rudely with a tangle of limbs and a string of oaths. He popped back up behind the bed and sprawled his arms messily across it, mussed crimson hair flopped over one eye and the other barely able to open with the mist of sleep still dulling it.

"Eh…?" he mumbled, looking around as if he had forgotten where he had fallen asleep, "Jyota? De hell you screamin' 'bout dis early in de mornin'?"

The violet and blue blur that was his frantic, naked partner swooped to his side and grabbed his arm viciously, hauling him to the door and flinging it open.

"I TOLD you tah go back tah de Barracks before reverie yah IDIOT! You gotta get outta here! Get back tah de Barracks an' act like yah was nevah here!" Jyota barked, slamming a hand on Enoki's chest as he shoved him.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Oy! Jyota wait what be dis big brouhaha about me stay-" Enoki protested, but Jyota pushed even harder and he wound up toppling out the door and nearly falling on his backside.

The populace of the camp that had already managed to make it out of bed to wend their way to the breakfast mess fires suddenly found their sleepy morning routine interrupted by the sound of yelling and a very loud, very naked, very familiar red-haired Shaman skidding on his heels out of the officers' residential area. He stopped and turned back toward the door, hardly caring that he was the object of a score of slack jawed stares and gleeful whispers, hands outstretched indignantly.

"Well can I at least get my-" he snarled, cut off by the clothes he was about to request flying through the air and plastering against his face.

Enoki yelped and scrambled to free the old linen pants and tunic from his tusks. Jyota vanished into his quarters as he slammed the door shut and left his hapless lover at the mercy of the sea of eyes watching in both fascination and horror. Enoki turned over his shoulder as he freed his face from the musty fabric and froze in place to be suddenly in the spotlight with various soldiers paused in various states of serving breakfast, dressing, or eating.

Bright emerald eyes slid from side to side, surveying exactly how many people had seen the spectacle of a naked Troll tossed unceremoniously out of one of the officers' personal chambers, but the rest of his body remained as still as a statue. Until of course, he remembered he was, in fact, undeniably still naked. He flushed and quickly covered his crotch with his rumpled ball of hodgepodge clothing, but he closed his eyes and lofted his chin with a haughty grin as he turned toward the barracks.

"Heh, you all _wish_ yah spent de night in de Officahs' Quartahs!" was all he proclaimed, throwing his head back with jovial laughter and swinging his hips as he retreated leisurely back to the barracks to dress in his armor once again.

The troops all watched him go, some in shock, some snickering and already spreading the news of Enoki's initiation into manhood around, and still some others shaking their heads and ignoring the entire proceeding completely. It was, after all, just another day on patrol in The Barrens, and it was not unusual for Enoki's latest fiasco to be the only entertainment for quite some time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **Mah gawd this took forever _ But it's a nice meaty chapter for ya'll, the longest one of the fic thus far I believe! Jyota and Enoki's final showdown on the matter of them. Who shall prevail and how will they go on from here?

... I'm sure to get some angry letters on this one... It was always meant to be this way I swear D:

**Chapter 11**

Just as Jyota had feared, the legend of the naked troll tossed out of the officers' quarters was the buzz of the Barracks for days afterward. Several different versions of the event even began to spring up and the mire deepened ever swifter as it morphed from a tale into a topic of debate as to what had truly occurred that epic morning. Enoki seized the opportunity to bask in the attention and fame whereas the calm, older party of the incident attempted to simply go silent whenever someone tried crack a joke or snicker at him about it. Jyota knew soon enough everything would blow over and just as he expected, not too long after his night with Enoki a rumor that one of the female Orc captains was with child surfaced and completely erased any memory anyone had of the two male Trolls and the deflowering of the camp's most famous virgin.

The lovers were relieved in a way. The collective eye of their compatriots off of them meant they were free to continue their clandestine romps and find wherever they could to sneak away, tear each other's armor off and hurriedly indulge in frantic bouts of passion. Enoki, after finally taking the plunge and spending the night in Jyota's bed, found his body even more eager for his touch and himself anxious to learn as much as he could and frequently was the initiator of naughty escapes. Jyota was happy for the most part to have in him a generous, adventurous lover who was never sated and always curious to discover new ways to touch and please him, but his youthful libido once unleashed was taxing on both his body and his nerves.

If Enoki had a spare moment at all he was creeping through the camp, hunting him down. Sometimes he stalked in his spectral wolf form, or used an elaborately crafted, expertly acted ruse to call Jyota away and pounce. On occasion he resorted to carefully monitoring his schedule to be in the right place at the right time to grab Jyota by the belt behind anything that would give them a few minutes cover and have it off before their lips even touched. He had free reign over his beloved who enjoyed the free spiritedness of it all, but ultimately still had his duties. While Enoki was free to mouth off to his superiors and give no explanation for his lateness, or to be bluntly honest just to shock them into silence, Jyota frequently had to come up with viable, legitimate sounding excuses for why he was late to his meetings and overseeing shifts which ranked much higher than his redheaded partner's grunt work.

Enoki hardly minded. After Jyota had finally accepted him there was nothing he could say or do to shake his loyal passions. Jyota was as a God to him, both of military prowess as well as sex, and his life became devoted solely to him. He had never enjoyed his tasks as a grunt besides, and living to cause mischief became a whole new game to him once he had a lover to tease. Jyota's aloofness only made it that much more satisfying to see his lower lid twitch, his cheeks flush and the muscles in his jaw jump and ripple under his blue skin.

Though, as the season changed once again and the one year anniversary of Enoki's consignment into the military loomed nigh, Jyota seemed to suddenly grow even more distant than he had before. As if overnight his Hunter went from a reformed, devoted lover to a near stranger. Quite frequently Enoki would go cheerfully hunting for him, only to be told by another officer that his partner had been with Commander Gor'rik in his chambers all day, or that had had been called away as far as Ratchet to discuss business. A few times he had even been stunned to be informed that Jyota had gone to Orgrimmar without telling him and then on top of that would be gone for several days. Upon returning the Captain would still never reveal the nature of his doings, but each time cunningly manage to quell Enoki's firestorm of enraged questions with a kiss and a well placed caress of his most intimate areas.

At first the Shaman had believed Jyota when he said it was simple military strategy meetings, but as time went on and dry fall blew in with its bitterly cold nights and crisply hot days he began more and more to doubt him. More often than he was able to share Jyota's bed he was left to his own devices as it were, frustratedly stroking himself in the privacy of an oasis or wherever he could find a moment alone. Though it proved a welcome distraction from mulling too long about what Jyota could really be doing. There was only one reason any officer had need to travel all the way to Orgrimmar and that was to meet with Warchief Thrall and his right hand; the Darkspear leader Vol'jin. He tried not to let that fact bother him, but steadily it began to weigh on his conscience, and his dreams and dark thoughts began to speak of his worries.

This did not go unnoticed by his compatriots, who had begun to grow concerned for their friend. They watched in dismay as Enoki seemed to look increasingly dejected every day and were horrified when in desperation the Troll began to actually complete his duties on time, just to busy his mind and body to keep from stewing over his mixed feelings toward Jyota. An Enoki who was not slacking off and goofing around was a depressed Enoki and they knew an intervention was entirely necessary, an intervention they staged in the usual forum; gossip around the dinner fires.

"I dunno, I guess he jes'… More important tah de Horde den I give 'im credit for," Enoki mused at the end of a long, angry list of grievances after someone had finally mustered the courage and asked how he and Jyota were getting along.

Winces crossed the faces of everyone who had listened to the griping and mumbles of sympathy rippled through those gathered close to him. The same compassionate Tauren woman who had taken such a vested interest in Enoki and Jyota's affair the night the Shaman had admitted it, whom Enoki had later learned was called Ambelie, was seated directly beside him and put a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"Aww, well I don't know about that," she said sweetly, "Captain Jyota is just busy is all. He's important to the Horde, but he's important to you too, and he knows that!"

"But even still, Captain Jyota is awfully caught up in all his work for being just a Captain out in the Barrens. I didn't even realize he was that highly ranked since he's still stuck out in this awful place," a young Orc recruit nearby commented, wrinkling his nose distastefully.

"Tch, yeah he like tah blow hot air up his own ass de subtle way by endurin' dis shit 'for de Horde'. Realleh, he got some standin' wit de Warchief and Mastah Vol'jin I know. When I first came here he said somethin' 'bout bein' even more highly ranked den Gor'rik, but he was doin' him a favor or somethin', I dunno I don' remembah exactly what he said," Enoki replied with a heavy, melancholy sigh, "Yanno, I could cope wit 'im if he jes' flat out said he was too busy fah me, but he don'. He sneaks off wit'out even tellin' me where he be goin' or how long he gonna be gone! An' lately it jes' seems he tryin' tah ignore me on purpose, no mattah what I do! De jerk…"

Ambelie wrapped a strong, furry arm around Enoki's shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, that's awful of him, but I'm sure there's a reason! He loves you, I know he does, I can see it in his eyes and the way he looks at you!" she proclaimed grandly.

One of Enoki's ears swiveled up, and his lips quirked into a crooked half grin.

"Aw come on, don' sweet talk me wit' dat fairy tale crap! De truth be he was treatin' me like dis before, an' it got a little bettah once we fought about it, an' now it bad again, I guess I jes' need tah buck up an' go slap 'im in de face again eh?" he replied amusedly.

The group gathered around him laughed and various cheered sentiments of agreement bubbled through their replies.

"You see? He's a military man. He's not used to having someone so full of life around like you Enoki! You just need to remind him to let loose every once in a while! To be happy! He's probably just stressed out about something that's happening on the other side of Azeroth like a good Captain should be and just taking it a little too seriously," the Tauren assured him, relishing the grin that was brightening over Enoki's face.

"Yeah… Yeah! Yah totally right! De selfish ass think he so loyal an' dedicated, but he jes' be an ass, heh, an' I been failin' at my job'a 'relaxin' 'im," he snickered impishly.

The signs had been so obvious. Enoki rued himself for not noticing that it was a simple case of falling back into old routines. Jyota was Jyota, and he had proven time and again what kind of a person he was and where his priorities lay. A lover was outside his usual routine, outside his comfort zone and as Enoki thought more about it, the more he realized Jyota was simply clueless on how to balance his career and his wants. It was up to him to be the strong one, and to remind Jyota of his own words the day they had been reunited. It was fate.

"Damn straight! Dat all dis is! Enoki ain' gonna take dis like no whelp!" Enoki announced boldly with the renewed vigor and determination in his voice.

Cramming the last hunk of braised beef from his plate into his mouth as he stood, Enoki tossed it onto the usual pile with stern resolve and brushed off his hands.

"If anybody want mah hammock tonight!" he called, mouth still full, "Go right on ahead! I ain' gonna need it!"

Cheers and lewd jeers of encouragement rose from the troops within earshot and with a smug, satisfied grin Enoki turned on his heels and trotted gleefully toward the Officer's Quarters where he knew Jyota had been holed up all day. Halfway there he paused for a moment, hands glowing white, and shrank himself down into the sleek, translucent wolf form he adored with mischief on his lupine muzzle. With paws swifter on the dry and dusty ground he then made his way silently and quickly to Jyota's door. Tail wagging, and tongue lolling out one side of his mouth, he paced a few times in front of it before giving it a firm pounce and a scratch with his claws. He quickly scrambled away and flattened himself on the ground behind one of the burning braziers nearby to watch and wait.

A few moments later his sharp ears picked up the sound of the door opening. The familiar silhouette of Jyota's coiffed Mohawk peered out, looked from side to side baffled, and the ghost wolf charged. A flurry of translucent tan fur sailed through the air, a battle howl ringing out, and Enoki was granted the singular pleasure of seeing the horrified expression twisting Jyota's face before his paws collided with his chest and the Hunter toppled to the ground with an indignant shriek.

"ENOKI!" he bellowed, snarling and batting at the jovial creature lapping playfully at his face, "Get de hell off! Dat ain' funny mon!"

Enoki remained atop him, but shimmered with bright white light as the lithe form of the wolf shifted back to the tall and lanky redheaded Troll. A grin still graced his radiant face even after Jyota's surly snapping and his legs stayed astride his hips suggestively as he laughed.

"Aw come on, yah had tah know it was me! Lighten up alreadeh! Yah been cooped up in a dark smoky room all day, let Enoki make it all bettah fah you…" he purred, raking his fingers down Jyota's chest.

Jyota's eyes widened, his skin tingled and the hair on the back of his neck rose. His body immediately responded to the touch and invitation of his lover, but its betrayal only incensed his mind even more. In a flash of reflex and frustration the Hunter vaulted up and bucked Enoki to the ground. He was on his feet and on his way back inside the moment the other landed with a squawk.

"Ow! Oy! What be yah deal Jyota? You in de middle'a masturbatin' all ovah yah damn little Loa shrine or what?! Why yah actin' like an ass again?" he demanded, rubbing his side and getting up to follow him.

"Leave me alone, Sparky! I had a long, rough day an' I ain' in de mood fah yah games an' jokes, not tonight," Jyota snapped back, skulking to his desk and sitting back down to rifle through his papers and maps.

Enoki's red mane bristled and he stalked in after his lover, slamming the door behind him.

"NO," he said firmly, "I ain' gonna let yah get away wit dis again. You been actin' like a complete an' total ass again! Yah fuckin' shove me away, ignore me when I practically fuckin' NAKED on your lap! Yah leave fah days on end an' don' find me worthy enough tah at least tell where de FUCK yah goin' off to! I sick'a dis shit! How de hell do yah think dat makes me feel eh?! Or did yah jes' not even fuckin' think about it?!"

A heavy silence sank into the wake of Enoki's furious, obscenity laden words. Jyota's eyes went wide and his hands paused in their frantic, aimless searching through his papers. He stared blankly for a moment, golden eyes wavering and shifting back and forth, but hung his head as he let the documents slip back onto the desk.

"I thought about it…" he muttered under his breath.

"Bullshit," Enoki quipped back with his arms crossed over his chest and his hips cocked.

"I did! Yah don' think I was thinkin' about how you was feelin'?" Jyota continued, though still unable to look his lover in the eye, "Yah think I that much of an oblivious moron dat I didn' see dat I was hurtin' you all ovah again? I ain' a moron!"

Jyota raised a fist and pounded it mightily against his desk which sang with the quaking thud. Enoki actually jumped, startled, and took a step back as his arms unfolded and fell to his sides.

"Tch, funny way'a showin' it," he hissed, though with less of the convinced fury of his first foray.

Jyota said nothing in reply. He simply stood right where he had been, his fist trembling on the desk and his free hand covering his face, looking ever the part of a commander whose fortresses were crumbling around him.

"I…" he finally croaked, his hand unfolding and body straightening, "Sparky I…"

Words were lodged too thickly in his throat and heart to bear to continue and even Enoki was able to clearly see something was drastically amiss.

"Jyota? Ey… 'Ey what be goin' on? What's de mattah?" he started with a cautious step toward his Hunter.

Jyota remained a stoic veritable statue even still and the baffled Enoki's gut twisted in horror. Never before had he seen Jyota so rattled and so shaken to his core he could not even conjure an eloquently sensual excuse.

"Look, I sorry I lost my tempah before I jes'… Ngh, I get so FRUSTRATED sometimes an' I miss-" he tried to continue, but quicker than he could even see Jyota's arms were suddenly around his waist and his lips sealed against his mouth in a hard, desperate kiss.

The redhead was too shocked to even return it at first. Instead, he went rigid until he mind caught up to what had happened and he could shove Jyota back just slightly.

"J-Jyota! What in de hell are you-?"

Jyota's lips plundered his once more and swallowed his protests, one hand reaching up and tangling into his wildfire hair.

"I'm sorry, Enoki," he whispered, barely audible even directly against his lips, "Forgive me. I need you… I want you… Now, here…"

The heat, the touch, and the heady words of his lover reverberated through his core and as always made a pliant, wanton creature out of the assertive young Troll who offered nary a protest further.

"Mmmm, well… When yah put it dat way…" he murmured with a sly little grin.

The space between them vanished, their tusks and lips locked in violent desire and nothing more was said between the two that night as Jyota shoved his beloved to his bed and ravished the clothes from his body. Enoki forgot he had even been cross with the other under his exhilarating touch and rain of smoldering kisses over every inch of his body that never failed to drive him utterly mad with passion. Jyota made desperate love to his flame haired Shaman that night, love that could erase the hurt and the bitterness with one stroke, one loving word murmured in hot, moist words against his ear.

Only that closeness, that ultimate joining of their bodies and souls at once, could make Enoki feel so loved and avenged. Jyota worshipped his body such that he cared no longer for the issues that had been irking him before that suddenly seemed so utterly trivial. Especially if confronting Jyota could always end in their sweat slicked bodies tangled in lust drunk fever making wild and flesh starved love until both of them collapsed to a trembling, exhausted heap. Simply being able to touch him again and look into his earnest golden eyes was enough for Enoki to feel like all was right in his universe once more.

Jyota even allowed him the rare treasure of sleeping the rest of the night in his bed with his arms around him in sated bliss. When the morning came he permitted Enoki to slowly drift back into consciousness at his own pace and then sent him off to get dressed with a warm and loving kiss. It was a far cry from the usual harried predawn ejection from Jyota's quarters every time he spent the night there, but very much a welcome one, and Enoki walked to breakfast in jubilant spirits.

He ate a hefty portion, dressed in his armor and, to the battalion's relief, arrived a few minutes late to his group assignment. It was patrol duty again for his usual regiment, which Enoki usually abhorred, but even that was not enough to bring him down from his jubilation. He marched out into the Barrens humming an old and upbeat Tauren folk song with a spring in his step, much to the chagrin of the Forsaken and Orc captains leading them. Though they had been prepared for it, having lost the traditional game of dice to decide who was saddled with the infamous Shaman the night before.

Instead they chose to ignore him and passed the time chatting about things they were mutually interested in. Topics ranged from magic to weapons, from their homelands to the current state of affairs in Orgrimmar and the looming threat of the Lich King, which in turn, led to talking about the military and the quite unexpected change that had befallen them. Their small but proud outfit in the Barrens, while tedious and at times thankless, was still considered to be noble work. Every so often, however, someone would yearn for more. Some truly talented heroes had been born from the most humble beginnings.

"So then it's official? About Captain Jyota I mean," the Undead woman asked, tilting her head curiously to the side.

Hearing the name of his lover out of nowhere faded the song from Enoki's throat and pricked up his ears curiously to listen in.

"Yeah, it's definitely happening now. He sent off a letter agreeing to Vol'jin and the Warchief's request and he just heard back the other day they happily accepted. This is his last week here in the Barrens actually, the lucky bastard," the Orc replied with a chuckle.

His words had been spoken so casually he never expected anyone to even react, but the moment those fatal words left his lips Enoki's blood halted in his veins, his heart froze in his chest and his feet stopped dead in their tracks. The line of soldiers behind him buckled at the sudden stop and sent the Shaman stumbling forward as they crashed into him, his face visibly pale and his eyes dramatically wide. His compatriots voiced their displeasure and annoyance, but all Enoki heard was a rushing in his ears with a horrified wave of dizziness washing over him.

Hearing the commotion and scuffle of feet on the dusty earth, the captains whirled around and turned their attention on Enoki.

"Grunt, what's wrong wi-"

"Is dat true?" Enoki asked before the older Orc in charge could finish.

He and his Forsaken partner glanced at each other warily and quirked their eyebrows before they turned back to the Troll everyone knew was Jyota's lover.

"Is what true…?" the woman asked in a careful, confused tone.

"Jyota! About JYOTA leavin' yah numbskulls!" the Shaman snapped, red mane crackling with electricity, "Is it true or ain' it?! He be clearin' outta here?!"

Both captains winced at the fearless audacity of the young recruit, as well as from the infamous sparking. Neither could believe Enoki was just then hearing about Jyota and his dealings with the leaders of the Horde.

"Uh, well. Yes," the intensely uncomfortable Orc started again, "He told me himself he was deeply humbled and honored by getting to- Wait he didn't… He didn't tell you?"

"Duh he didn' fuckin' tell me if I be havin' tah ask you rejects! Spit it out! Where de hell he goin'?!" Enoki continued as he prowled menacingly closer.

He should have told the young Grunt to watch his language and respect his superior officers but the Orc Captain simply shrugged.

"He…" he started, "This has been going on for a long time. Vol'jin and Warchief Thrall have been interested in Jyota since before you even came and they've been keeping an eye on his skills and his leadership abilities. They finally decided he would make an ideal candidate for one of Vol'jin's Shadow Hunters so he's leaving to go train under some special Voodoo master or something like that, it's all very cloak and dagger and he-"

"Alright alright, that is more than enough of his charade, private affairs are to be handled in private, we have a patrol to make, lets MOVE OUT!" the Undead woman finally cut in, taking a commanding lead and waving the ranks back into file, "Back into your ranks Grunts, I don't want a word out of any of you until lunch!"

Disappointed as they were to have the drama cut short, the soldiers obeyed and silently shifted back into their prearranged lines. Enoki, however, stood stone still as a pillar of fiery smoldering rage. He heard none of the orders. He saw no one moving around him. All he knew was the image of Jyota's complacent, beguiling grin seared into his brain and the fresh, new feeling of raw betrayal cutting into his gut.

A gentle hand on his shoulder from one of his fellow Grunts ignited it fully into unbridled wrath, well intentioned as it was, and he roared with bestial rage as he slapped it violently away. Fire flew from his fingertips and lightning struck the ground around him as his hands burst into a radiant white light. It engulfed his form and shrank him down to a lanky, transparent wolf with his lips curled back and ruff bristling as he turned to sprint back toward the barracks. The Orc officer balked at the spectacle and reached out toward him with a forceful hand.

"Hey! GRUNT! Hey! What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" he bellowed.

The fleeing wolf skidded to a brief, dusty halt just long enough to snarl over his shoulder.

"Gonna go tear Jyota a new one, what else?!" Enoki growled in reply, "So fuck off an' lemme alone!"

With that, he bounded back over his shoulder and tore off across the plains as nothing but a cloud of golden dust with both captains shrieking after him.

"Grunt! Get back in file! Grunt! Get back here this instant! Commander Gor'rik will hear of this! GRUNT! You leave now you won't see the light of day for a week! GRUNT! ENOKI!"

If Enoki could have heard them, he still would not have cared less what punishments they threatened him with, not when his universe was crumbling around him once again. He ran as fast as his four legs would carry him until his paws burned, his dry tongue lolled out the side of his mouth and his flanks heaved with the effort of keeping up his breakneck speed. He had to get to Jyota. He had to hear from him first hand why he had lied to him for so long, why he had deceived him and more importantly, he had to be the one to put his fist into his face.

Blind rage guided him in his flight back to the barracks as they finally rose into view in the hazy landscape. It kept his paws thundering, his teeth bared and his movements sharp and deadly as he blazed into the camp, much to the horror of the captains still working there. They gasped and darted out of the way as the Ghost wolf came galloping by to inspect them all while zeroing in on his prey he knew would have to be lurking somewhere in secret. He knew Jyota had to be somewhere still on the grounds and he would find him regardless of the repercussions.

Unaware of the rampaging wolf in the camp Jyota was indeed still on the Horde compound with Sharvari at his side walking slowly back to his quarters after a long meeting with Gor'rik about splitting his duties with a few other captains until a replacement could be sent from Orgrimmar. His mind and heart weighed heavy with his decision. Though he knew it was the noble and stalwart thing to do there still remained the fact that he still felt too guilty to even tell his lover what had been going on, not to mention just the slightest bit afraid.

He could only imagine Enoki's nightmarish reactions upon being told he was about to leave for secret training even he knew little about. The redhead would scream, hiss and spark for sure, the Hunter thought with a grimace. More than likely physical violence would play a part at some point and he would end up bruised, battered and on the floor begging for forgiveness. Jyota, as it turned out, was more correct than he knew, he simply never guessed it would be a foaming, growling wolf, eyes bloodshot with rage and fur bristling on end that charged from nowhere and plowed into his chest.

The Violet-maned Troll let loose with an unholy bellow of horror as he toppled to the ground and landed in a tangled heap pinned beneath a snarling beast. The victorious Enoki craned down low to his face as he growled, lips shuddering over his dripping, wickedly curved fangs.

"Jyota…!" he sibilated, turning his name into a growl and making sure to dig his claws into his chest, "Jyota you getcha ass up right now an' EXPLAIN yahself tah me yah lyin' BASTARD!"

"Ow! I can' get up wit you on me! Ah-! Enoki yah hurtin' me! Geddoff!" Jyota yelped, shoving at the enraged wolf, "What de hell you talkin' 'bout?!"

A series of feral, enraged barks dangerously close to his face answered him and forced him to turn his head away.

"Yah know full well what I be talkin' 'bout! I wan' de TRUTH!" Enoki screeched until his voice broke in agony.

Fury crumbled into sorrow that twisted his lupine muzzle before his body glimmered in white light and became a Troll once more astride Jyota's hips.

"Stop LYIN' tah me…! Yah always fuckin'… Jyota, are yah leavin'…? Is it true? You ditchin' us all tah go tah Orgrimmar an' be some big shot Shadow Huntah?" he asked in a low, bitter voice.

Jyota's face softened as Enoki's fire dimmed and became a quietly smoldering ember just waiting for the breath that would ignite his full rage again. Enoki knew. The very moment he had been dreading had finally come.

"Sparky…" he started, his guilt-ridden golden eyes shifting away, "Lemme up."

The redhead's weight on his hips shifted and was no more as he got up smoothly, but Enoki stubbornly refused to offer his hand to help his lover. Jyota was left to haul himself awkwardly up from the dusty ground himself and pat down his soiled back and haunches as he thought of how to word the secret he had been keeping. There were only a few precious seconds he could waste with cleaning himself up and composing himself, however, and by the time he was expected to speak all he could manage was a garbled croak.

"Sparky, um…" Jyota feebly muttered, "I… I dunno what yah heard, or who yah heard it from but I wasn' lyin'. I jes' didn' tell yah cause… Well. Dis been somethin' dat been goin' on since before I even metcha an' I-"

"Before yah even MET ME? An' yah nevah thought it was important enough tah fuckin' TELL ME? Fuck, Jyota, would yah jes' spit it de HELL out alreadeh?!" Enoki suddenly interrupted, crackling with rancorous blue arcs of electricity and gesturing wildly with his hands, "What in de flyin' fuck is goin' on? An' are. You. LEAVIN'?"

Jyota stood, silent a moment, his face unreadable, his expression unchanging. For Enoki it seemed to drag on for torturous eons.

"Yes…" the answer finally came like a cold knell in his ears, "Yes, I be leavin' dis place, in jes' a few days. But, Enoki, dis be somethin' I wanted mah whole life! Evah since I was a little whelp even! I always, always felt such a strong connection tah de Loa, tah de spirits, an' lately I find dey be answerin' me! Fah de first time in mah life dey comin' tah me, offerin' deir blessin's an' deir guidance. Dey even come tah Mastah Vol'jin an' tell him dat now, aftah bein' so devoted so long I… I be one wit dem, dat I worthy'a MORE. Fah so long I show mah loyalty tah de Horde, fah so long I worship an' live mah life always in de footsteps an' path de Loa set down fah me. Now I can give back, now I can be one'a de elite, one'a de guardians'a de tribe an' de Horde. Enoki dis been mah dream! Dis be… Dis be fate!"

Enoki felt numb. His body felt loose and formless and his vision washed in horrified white. Those words could have come from another world, another time, another mouth the way they rang in his ears. He was just a casual passerby to the conversation, walking past and feeling so sad for the heartbroken young redhead watching his entire existence crumble to nothingness in his hands.

"Dat. Dat can' be, you- You nevah-! You tol' me-! We were-! But Jyota I don' get it! H-How could dis-? How could you not-?"" he spluttered, eyes wide and unfocused.

Jyota darted forward and grabbed his wrists to bring his hands to his lips. They pressed tenderly onto each of his knuckles and clung steadfast as he tugged him close and gazed up into his eyes.

"Shhhh, Sparky, calm down. Look dis ain' as bad as all dat! Dis don' gotta mean everythin' gotta change!" he said with a hopeful smile on his lips, only to be met with a doubtful scoff as Enoki yanked his hands away and wiped the kisses onto his trousers.

"Dis changes everythin' yah dumbass! How can yah stand dere an' tell me dat it ain'? You gonna be all off in yah secret Loa club an' yah ain' gonna have two seconds fah me! Not tah mention dis was so important tah you an' yah nevah shared one bit wit' me?! How de hell can it be fate now when yah fuckin' told me WE was fate?!" he bellowed back.

"Because we are! An' I ain' gonna be in trainin' forevah, I promise as soon as I can I will come back fah you," Jyota tenderly answered.

Enoki only looked like someone had slapped him unexpectedly across the face.

"Wait… Wait wait wait, hold on a damn second, what de hell do yah mean, 'I'll come back fah you'?!" he demanded.

"Huh? Well, I mean-" Jyota started, taken aback by the simple question, "I jes' mean dat I… Well I was gonna ask you dis all along, before I left. I… Enoki, I wantcha tah wait fah me. Because you… Thinkin'a comin' back intah your arms would make everythin' all worthwhile. Thinkin' a' you waitin' would give me de hope I need tah make it through all dis."

He offered his lover a heartfelt, yearning smile as well as a pleading hand, which Enoki glared at as if it were covered in manure.

"So," the fiery youth began in an eerily calm tone, his red mane pricking up with static electricity thrumming in the air around him, "You… Gonna go off an train wit de elite fightahs'a de Horde, learnin' all kinda secret Voodoo kick ass skills, you gonna be doin' missions wit Mastah Vol'jin, an' de Warchief, an' I…"

He paused, letting the growl in his throat rise to a dramatic crescendo and his arms thrash dramatically to illuminate his furious point.

"I gonna be SITTIN' out here in de fuckin' middle'a NOWHERE, cleanin' out Silithid shit an' tanglin' wit Quillboars an' fuckin' rank ass Centaurs?! Waitin' all wistful an' teary eyed fah mah lovah tah come home home an' save me from mah own life an' doin' jack shit like some PATHETIC, simperin' army spouse? Jyota are yah SERIOUS? You can't be serious! What be wit all dis ceremony an' secrecy anyway? Jes' take me wit'you!"

A long silence and an anguished expression were all Enoki wrung from the soon to be Shadow Hunter and he knew all too well what he was going to say.

"But yah can't. No wait, yah WON'T, right?" Enoki snapped at length.

"I CAN'T Enoki, what would yah do anyway? You'd be cooped up in Orgrimmar or Sen'jin or somewhere an' yah wouldn' even have no patrol duty! You'd be goin' stir crazy, I know you!" Jyota defended stubbornly.

"So what?!" came the haggard, desperate retort, "Jyota, yah don' think I be good enough tah join up wit de guards in Sen'jin or somethin'? Yah don' think I could handle life bein' sucky an' you bein' busy fah a bit jes' tah be wit' you?! I thought we was a team! I thought we was togeddah!"

"It ain' dat eiddah! Even if I wanted tah take you I can't! I jes' can't okay? It gonna be jes' de way it is now! I gonna be gone fah days, I won' be able tah tell you a damn thing 'bout what I be doin' or where I be goin'! I-"

"Wait! Wait a damn sec, you don' even WANNA take me? What de fuck, Jyota!? Is dat what dis is all about? Is dat what you been tryin' tah hint at me by treatin' me like crap all de time? Dat yah wanna shake me off but yah dunno how?!" Enoki barged in ruthlessly.

"No! No no no! Sparky, absolutely not! You don' get what I be sayin'! I onleh sayin' dat I think yah should stay here fah de good of both'a us! I gonna be consumed by dis. It a long, very private an' deeply spiritual process of devotion, prayer, trainin' an' meditation dat requires every last shred of me. You need tah be free, tah do what yah want! I don' need tah be worried 'bout you runnin' around Orgrimmar bored tah tears an' doin' stupid stuff tah embarr-"

Jyota's eyes widened as he caught himself before the sentence escaped his lips completely. He clapped a hand over his mouth, shook his head and held a trembling hand out for Enoki whose jaw had fallen open and eyes gone blank with utter shock.

"Wait- Wait shit-! Shit Enoki I din' mean dat okay? You don' embarrass me, an' I wantcha tah come wit me, I PROMISE you dat! B-But it jes' ain' possible!" elaborated the older Troll, "Dis be serious, I can' even tell yah what I gonna be doin', or even… Where de trainin' gonna take place. Yah gotta undahstand dis don' got nothin' tah do wit you! Yah jes' don' undahstand!"

Jyota's desperate words were so distant in his ears they were nothing more than a passing breeze through the trees. All Enoki heard was the stark note of truth in what he had said in anger. He embarrassed him. He was an embarrassment to Jyota who was his reason for being. He was a liability, baggage, a part of Jyota he wasn't proud enough of to take with him on his journey, and everything finally made sense. Enoki finally understood. Jyota's wanderings, his distance, his occasional bursts of passion that ended in him repeating the cycle all over again; all of it came from the magical spark of lust that one lost visit that seemed so long ago in Mulgore and his own blind devotion.

Jyota was nothing like the beautiful, flawless warrior he had idolized and obsessed over. He was mortal.

"No… No I get it," Enoki finally started, deadpan, "I think I finally DO get it… I don' embarrass you. Not here. Not in dis Gods forsaken wasteland filled wit' nothin' but sand, Centaurs and shit! But I would embarrass de hell outta you in front'a people who actually mattah! Right?!"

Jyota was so stunned he could scarcely find the mental prowess to breathe, let alone respond.

"Wh-What?! Where in de HELL did you get dat idea? D-Dat be preposterous! I would nevah be-"

"I tolja tah stop fuckin' lyin' tah me! You don' mind bein' wit me out here cause we all beneath you, you doin' us a FAVOR by bein' here jes' like yah told me de day I signed up fah dis! But now dat yah gonna be someone I ain' worth takin' along an' presentin'!" Enoki screamed, cutting Jyota off and taking a menacing step toward him.

The Hunter held his hands up and backed down from the Shaman who had become a powerful and intimidating warrior, shaking his head and reaching out for him even still.

"No… No, Enoki… Please don' think dat… I… I meant every word'a what I evah said tah you, you gotta believe me, please," he pleaded with him.

"Got a damn hard time believin' dat when all yah evah DONE is smothah pretteh words on me! You can praise me tah de skies, you can call me a God, you can tell me I hot an' a demon in bed, you can tell me I mean de world tah you… But when yah jes' abandon me- Like yah done so fuckin' much! It don' mean shit! An' yanno? Fah someone who got such a silvah tongue, yah nevah once EVAH told me dat you-"

"I love you, Enoki."

Three words were enough to snuff out the flames of Enoki's rampage, if only for a moment. His jaw remained open in mid sentence with his tongue poised to form the next word. It fell stiffly back into his agape mouth, his viridian irises fixed upon Jyota's flushed smiling face, and he froze stone still.

"You… Y-You… What…?" was all Enoki could manage to wrench from his paralyzed throat.

"Please Enoki," Jyota murmured, looking up into his eyes, "Sparky… Please… Wait fah me. I gonna come back tah you an' then everythin' gonna be perfect! I promise! Please…"

Jyota glided on soundless feet to him and cupped his face preciously in his hands, but Enoki felt nothing. All he felt was a tautness of irritation in his spine and a heat in his gut as he watched the all too familiar scenario play out again. Jyota had just the right words every time. He knew exactly where to touch him, how to smile, how to look into his eyes and make him believe that everything he said was true. For so long he had believed in that ultimate fantasy. He had richly lived the daydreams he dreamed out in the fields of Mulgore, but hearing Jyota's hollow, empty words it was clear they had been only dreams. Every morning when he woke up he was still the same soldier in the same dreary place, feeling jilted and lonely, missing his lover's embrace and yearning to run free with him by his side always.

Those beautiful words should have been the climax of the story Enoki had written for himself in his head. He should have been able to smile, throw his arms around his beloved's neck and kiss him with all of his being, but the furious twisting of his gut felt far from the giddy effervescence of love. Jyota was still there, smiling, charming, handsome as always, promising love, life and adventure but in the same breath sentencing him to the monotony of an indefinite tour of duty in the desolate savannah of the Barrens.

A story had unfolded from his journey out into the wilds, but it was not his. Enoki's destiny had been penned in the Hunter's hand. He had followed every word and in so doing submitted to the jail of the very pages upon which his epic was to begin. He had done everything to keep the myth of it alive but finally it was plain. Jyota's feelings for him could have been always that ardent, deep and pure. His passionate confession and meaningful pleas just might have been sincere. Even if he were finally speaking the whole truth, Enoki's eyes were clear. Everything about their affair was wrong. His myth of the wide-eyed country boy and the strong, noble soldier was finally erased, its curtain of romantic deception lifted and its intoxicating idealism shattered.

"You know… I heard dis story a million times before…" Enoki hissed through his teeth after his lengthy silence, a bitter smirk on his lips, "You make dese big, grand, sweepin' proclamations… You sex me up, you fuck me and let me sleep in yah bed whisperin' dat we gonna have dis big, epic romance if I jes' patient and wait fah you… Den you leave me hangin', waitin' on you. You do all you gotta do tah keep me WAITIN'… Always WAITIN'!"

Enoki had to stop to breathe a ragged breath and wring his hands into his unruly red locks in frustration.

"You make promises you don' keep, you hide things, you lie, you hurt me an' say it all gonna be fine, jes' like you doin' right now. It always all about YOU," he rasped at length.

Jyota quickly opened his mouth to respond, but Enoki whipped out a finger and bore his teeth with a snarl.

"No! Cram it!" he barked authoritatively, "I be fuckin' talkin' here dis time, an' you know what? Too little too late dis time pal! I done sittin' here thinkin', wishin' an' dreamin'a you, my very own knight in shinin' armor, jes' like I did as a stupid kid! I DONE feelin' like tomorrow things gonna be bettah, like you gonna shape up an just fuckin' GROW a pair an' talk tah me, fight fah me an' SHOW dat yah want me by yah side! I done wit YOU!"

It was Jyota's turn to be rendered slack-jawed and silent in the wake of Enoki's outburst. He stared at him for several moments as his brain struggled to make sense of what he had said and the change in the lover he had fought with and reconciled with so many times before.

"W-What? You don' mean dat. Sparky, yah can't mean dat!" he choked.

"Don' fuckin' call me dat anymore! I mean every damn word! We had dis exact same fight ovah an' ovah again an' I sick tah fuckin' death'a it! Go! Jes' fuckin' go!" Enoki screeched, pointing a finger high and off into the distance.

"Go off an' do yah damn Shadow Huntah Loa cocksuckin' bullshit! Be a big shot hero an' rub elbows wit de oddah heroes! Yah don' gotta worry about me no more, we DONE. Ovah! Finished!" he continued at the top of his lungs and making a deadly final sealing motion with his hands, "I can' do dis anymore… I jes' can't… It hurts too bad Jyota. It fuckin' hurts tah even LOOK at you. Jes' GO, an' don' bothah sayin' goodbye, I don' even wanna see yah face again."

His final peace said, his mind made up, and his heart threatening to shatter in his chest and break his façade of calm, Enoki turned his back on his beautiful, noble Hunter for the last time.

"Wait! Wait no please! Sparky don' do dis now please! I'm sorry!" Jyota cried desperately, darting forward and grabbing his shoulder, "What can I do? I'll do anythin' fah you! ANYTHIN'! Jes' name it! Please! Jes' don' walk out dat door. Don' you dare walk out dat door."

Where once that heavy, calloused hand on his shoulder would have made his heart skip a beat and his teal skin run hot, it only made his lower eyelid twitch and anger roil up within him. His words, once sacred as if handed down from the Loa themselves on high, were pitiful and desperate. They solicited a peal of laughter from his lips instead of a wanton, lovesick sigh, and Enoki grinned arrogantly as he turned back around to face him. Once again Jyota proved to have not heard a single grievance.

"You a real piece'a work yanno dat? You didn't listen tah a word I jes' said did you? Dat be EXACTLY why we ovah yah idiot! Yanno what yah coulda done? Yah coulda grown a pair an' jes' been wit me de way yah wanted, instead'a bein' a chickenshit wuss an' sneakin' round tryin' tah hide me an' hide yahself!" he said with finality.

Jyota merely smiled; a bright, tragic smile of a man desperate to save something that they both knew was doomed.

"I can be dat now! I can! Dis fight be good fah us! We can make somethin' great outta it! Now I know how you feel, an' you know what be goin' on wit me, we can have a fresh start an' move on tah biggah an' bettah things! Dis jes'… Dis jes' a small bump in de road, a-a short partin' of de ways! Yanno? We at a crossroads, but dey gonna meet up again! Jes' cause we can't walk down de same road right now don' mean dat we gotta walk away from each oddah! Right? We alreadeh been separated, we alreadeh done dis, we can do it again, right? Sparky?" the violet-maned Hunter implored his beloved.

Enoki's core smoldered as Jyota spoke. The muscles in his jaw quivered and rippled under his skin as his lips curled into a half grin. His eyes went wide and wild and the blue, furious snaps of electricity danced a mad, frenetic waltz of fury over his skin that tingled with the static. The smell of ozone permeated the room with the oppressive heat of a subterranean cave and tiny, spindly fissures burst through the soft earth beneath Enoki's feet.

"Dat what I still am tah you huh…?" he sibilated, looking up into Jyota's golden eyes with a feral gleam in his own, "Sparky… Little Sparky. Jes' a wide-eyed kid who can't handle de truth… Jes' a stupid little brat who don' undahstand how de real world works right?! Well guess what? I gotcha fuckin' SPARKY right here!"

Enoki hurled his sparking fist straight into Jyota's face. His knuckles pummeled into his jawbone, lightning cracked around them, a blue flash lit the room and a thunderstorm pounded him clean off his feet, sending him twisting through the air. Jyota flew with a strangled yelp and crashed headlong into his desk covered in his precious hoard of military documents, correspondence, and maps. They scattered frantically into the air like a flock of misshapen birds while he pitched upside down onto the old wooden structure which splintered and buckled under his weight and deposited him unceremoniously upon his skull on the dirt floor. Jyota groaned in pain, the papers still fluttering around him, his mohawk a frazzled puff of static violet around his head, and draped over the broken wood like a discarded rag doll. By the time he managed to open his bleary eyes, Enoki stood over him, cracking his knuckles and grinning from ear to ear over his destruction.

"Somethin' tah remembah me by," he sneered and made a sharp, military worthy turn on his heels to go.

Then, Enoki streaked out the door of Jyota's chambers leaving nothing in his wake but a set of cracked footprints, the smell of ozone, burnt hair and sulfur, and a bedraggled, statically charged pile of a Hunter. Jyota reached out for the fiery red shadow as it fled into the light of the setting sun, but he dared not make a sound to call him back to his side. Enoki had made his decision, and when Enoki made a decision it was final.

In the end, his wild spirit would not be content to be contained any longer and he had slipped from his grasp. His tenuous hold on the firestorm that was Enoki had broken completely, he realized as he lay propped upside down against the ruins of his desk, smoking slightly and gazing out into the radiant column of light spilling in through his open doorway. Asking him to wait was akin to pleading with a wildfire to cease its consumption of a hillside, or a raging hurricane hungry to ravage the earth to linger offshore and play with the surf instead. It was the ultimate insult for the Shaman as raw as the elements themselves, but Jyota could not help but wonder who could have possibly blamed him for wanting to look into the majesty of such primal life for only a moment longer than he was allowed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: **Ah shit, I let this get away from me again. I'm so sorry guys! But look! Another chapter! Kind of a boring one though I'm sorry to say. Enoki angsts, but perhaps he hasn't considered his future as carefully as he thought!

**Chapter 12**

Enoki ran. He ran through the blazing red desert sunset blurred like a swath of blood over his eyes which burned with tears he refused to let fall. The towering behemoths of the Horde encampment whirred by him as grey and crimson streaks against the endless flaxen backdrop, voices from all directions called out his name worriedly, the hot and sandy wind stung his face, but the young Troll know only the searing pain in his chest. It was over. Jyota was gone. Jyota had never been there in the first place, but without him, without his dreams and his epic tale of love always in the back of his mind only a vast nothingness existed, spreading out in all directions with nowhere to turn. Though he loathed the Barrens, he hated being a soldier, and he despised everything about his life, he had nothing and no one else.

There was only the looming form of a supply hut rising from the earth to meet him at last and swallow him into its dark maw which he hurled himself into gratefully. The dark heat of the stuffy, musty hut closed around him and muffled the sounds of his own mind, leaving only the sound of his rasping, ragged breath. Enoki's body trembled while his chest heaved and every muscle in his body twisted and went rigid to combat the abhorrent tears already welling in his eyes. Their humid mist made the languid ruddy light streaming in through the gaps in the canopy gleam and the floating dust motes sparkle like flecks of gold lost in gravity and time. The racks of weapons, sacks of grain, and piles of unused or broken armor that rose to the ceiling haphazardly were still, quiet and stately all around him.

There was peace at last there in the storehouse. There, he could partake of just one moment of silence in the wake of his fury. He allowed himself a deep, shivering breath that cleared his mind and finally allowed the thoughts and feelings bombarding his psyche to shatter the thin veneer of strength he imagined for himself. All that was left inside of him was rage; rage and a burning desire to take everything he knew and reduce it to nothing more than a smoldering pit in the ground while he walked away laughing his last laugh. That would get him arrested and court-martialed, Enoki knew for sure, so he settled for the next best thing.

With an unholy bellow of his twisted, churning ire and fury, Enoki swung his fist into the closest thing to him. The precariously stacked weapon rack that was the first victim toppled noisily to the ground and smashed with a deeply satisfying sound of breaking wood and screeching steel which only fueled the need to decimate anything he could. Enoki turned his rage onto the crates of various armor parts next, shoving them over and toppling them like a row of dominoes down the jagged, hastily packed line. Plated gloves, boots and harnesses flew from the splintering boxes and scattered over the storehouse floor. Enoki merely kicked them into the stone walls viciously with a strangled scream for each, his frenzy fully unleashed and the tears finally streaking unfelt down his cheeks.

The Shaman tore through the bags of flour and grain, throwing them clear across the room and spilling the white and yellow powders to the floor where they burst in a shimmering cloud around his feet. He tore down every weapon rack that lined the circular stone walls of the store house, broke every bow over his knee, violently dispersed the neat piles of cannonballs and tipped over the precious water barrels. The clear, pure liquid washed over the floor littered in the ruins of the stockpiles and swept the pieces against the walls, but the redhead's typhoon of destruction blustered on. He picked up a length of aged wood that had once been the leg of a rack holding practice axes and simply began beating and smashing everything around him with it.

Clay pots lining the shelves and containing valuable healing and medicinal herbs exploded when struck and spewed their contents over the sopping floor. Hapless training dummies were knocked clear off the ground, beheaded and disemboweled with their straw innards filling the air already thick with flour, gunpowder and the sickly sweet smell of dried herbs. Nothing was sacred. Everything in the store hut had to be completely obliterated. Enoki sobbed ever louder as the supplies crumbled to ruin around him. He expelled his suffering in one explosively massive torrent of destruction until he raised his makeshift bat above his head to smash in the rest of the medical supplies, and a single rough and green-skinned hand darted out and snatched his wrist firmly in its grasp.

Startled, Enoki whirled around with his teeth viciously bared and his tear stained face pinched in hatred only to stare straight into the sternly stony glare of Commander Gor'rik himself. The sight was enough to shock him into stillness for a moment, but the fiery rancor just as quickly blazed back into his heart and he swung his free hand wildly at the Orc. Gor'rik dodged the blow meant for his gut, thanks to Enoki's clumsy rage, and held steadfast to his wrist. The Troll continued to thrash at him and the two scuffled and struggled across the sopping, muddy floor.

Luckily for Gor'rik Enoki was still crying and his vision was blurred with both tears and raw ire. His strikes were powerful and deadly, but they were also careless, wild, and easily dodged for a seasoned warrior such as the Orc captain. It was a simple matter of a graceful waltz of battle and with a few deft steps and dodges, Gor'rik had the young Shaman's arms pinned behind his back and his knee in the back of the Troll's. Enoki succumbed easily and collapsed under the force of his Commander face first into the ground. Though he swore, sobbed, writhed, and spat, Gor'rik plopped himself down matter-of-factly into the small of his back with a sigh and cradled his scruffy chin in his palm. He waited, allowing the Troll to fight out the last of his rage, and only when he seemed too exhausted to fight any longer did he speak to him.

"Sheesh, now what did you have to go and destroy all of our stuff for, Enoki? Just because you're feeling bad? That isn't fair now is it?" he chastised the youth beneath him calmly.

Sated and soothed by someone finally containing him and speaking to him in a gentle tone, Enoki sniffed back his tears and shook his head.

"N-No…" he murmured bitterly in reply, "Sorry, Commandah… I sorry, I-I din' mean-"

"No, you meant to destroy everything, that much is obvious, but I suppose I can understand why… Jyota was very important to you, wasn't he?" Gor'rik continued in a lofty, mystic's voice.

The name, as well as the use of past tense, made Enoki's ears flatten down against his skull, his heart twist in his chest, and his shimmering emerald eyes slide upward.

"How did you-"

"How did I know? Well, the two captains you ran out on this afternoon made sure to send a runner back to tattle on you and fetch you of course! That… And the walls in the captains' quarters are paper thin, I heard everything," the Commander interjected amusedly.

Enoki's face flushed a brilliant shade of scarlet and he ducked his head into his forearms with a groan.

"Shit… All of it?" he queried hesitantly.

"All of it… Every last angry, frustrated, bitterly delicious little word," Gor'rik affirmed, smirking crookedly in his relish.

Enoki snarled in exasperation and buried his face deeper into the warm earth and the safe darkness of his crossed, lanky forearms.

"Aw fuckin' hell…" he hissed angrily, "An' now I suppose you here tah tell me tah deal wit' it an' get back in rank, eh?"

Gor'rik laughed robustly and gave Enoki's flank an affectionate pat.

"Aw, cheer up my boy, it's not as grave and military suck it upness as all that! I certainly didn't come here to tell you to do anything," he said, finally feeling confident that Enoki's rage was quelled.

The aged Orc Commander shuffled up heavily off his young soldier, letting him free, and lumbered over to one of the remaining stacks of soft flour to perch himself. His bulky form thudded into the embrace of the burlap sacks and he reclined back to watch Enoki as he slowly lifted himself out of the dirt. The Shaman crouched down, looked over to Gor'rik questioningly, and the Orc smiled as he patted the sack of flour next to him. Confused, and having nothing to do but acquiesce to the silent request, Enoki got up and sat himself beside his Commander.

"So, if you didn't come tah give me ordahs or nothin'," he began at length, "Den what de hell did yah follow me for?"

Gor'rik laughed again and gestured to the decimated storage hut.

"Well, to stop you from doing this first of all, but looks like I was a little late. Secondly, to make sure you were alright. I can't have any of my fine ladies or gentleman in a compromised state, it's bad for morale and bad for unity! It's like having one weak link in a chain, one rotten apple in a pie, one frayed rope on a catapult, one defective-"

"Alright alright I get it already," Enoki laughed to stop the tirade he knew was coming, wiping at his face with a sheepish grin, "You was jes' morbidly curious, wasn't you?"

Gor'rik grinned a wolfish grin around his yellowed, chipped tusks that gave nothing more than a vision of a lecherous old man caught eavesdropping. His eyes, however, narrowed shrewdly at the young Troll.

"Am I that transparent?" he asked airily.

"Fah! An' old geezer like you? What bettah things he got tah do den listen in on oddah people's private conversations tah get his rocks off?" Enoki snorted.

"Hah! Boy, are you kidding me? Gossip's all there is to do for anyone out here in this Gods forsaken hell hole!" Gor'rik retorted.

The duo laughed together, Gor'rik slapping his gut and rolling back on his flour sack while Enoki rubbed the last of the tears from his eyes and hung his head.

"Ahhhh, yeah I got told dat pretty much first thing when I got here, guess now everybody gonna be talkin' 'bout me at dinnah again tonight," the Shaman groused good-naturedly.

"Probably, but surely Jyota will be there too to endure it," his companion quipped back, even though he knew he would not.

"Pfffft, you kiddin'? Jyota din' even have de balls tah tell me he was leavin'. What makes you think he gonna face de music an' come tah dinnah?" Enoki replied bitterly.

"Oh I see, so… First he hides one of the most important decisions of his life from you for a year, asks you to wait and won't even entertain the idea of trying to take you with him, and then he leaves you to explain everything to that pack of wolves out there alone?" Gor'rik noted, thumbing his grizzled chin, "Sounds just like Jyota to me."

Hearing his former partner verbally desecrated in nearly exactly the way he would, minus the more colorful oaths and vulgar adjectives, from one of Jyota's closest colleagues barely registered in Enoki's mind. He was so astounded by Gor'rik's sympathetic assertion words completely failed him. No clever retort flew to his lips as it always did. Only his body responded with the instinctual rigid spine as he sat bolt upright, eyes wide and jaw falling slack.

"…Huh?" was all he managed to croak.

The old Orc Commander simply smirked.

"Sounds just like him to me, Jyota's always been a man of duty, first and foremost. He lives for rules, he lives for his Gods, and he lives for the Horde. Love doesn't really fit into that equation," he elaborated kindly.

Enoki looked away and flattened his ears back against his skull.

"Oh…"

"Am I wrong…?" Gor'rik asked, raising a heavy brow with a sardonic smirk, "Or were you in here destroying our supplies because you were so happy Jyota finally proposed?"

"Hell no," Enoki snorted, "Yah fuckin' right. I always came second tah whatevah it was he had tah get done… Always! Our whole damn whatevah dat was was jes'… Jyota killin' his damn self tah make it up tah me all de time. Jes' feels like shit tah have tah say it sucked out loud. Rat bastard."

"Don't blame him entirely, like I said that's just how his mind works. First is his duty, the grand scheme of things and his place in the universe, everything else comes second. Someone like you, someone who acts on his heart, can't be expected to understand why he feels that way, just as someone like Jyota doesn't understand how much that hurts someone like you," Gor'rik explained, looking off and up as if he were just discussing the weather.

The Troll let his voice sink in and percolate through his mind. In so few words so much of his life had been summed up so perfectly and concisely. He had never understood Jyota, and it had become painfully clear that Jyota, while infatuated just the same as he was, had never fully understood him either.

"I guess. We jes'. He couldn'… An' I didn'… It jes'... It jes'…" murmured Enoki after a short silence, only for Gor'rik to finish his sentence for him.

"Wasn't meant to be?"

Silence was all that answered. Though Gor'rik watched the face of his young Grunt intently and saw the ripples of clarity spreading slowly like the light of dawn across his angularly feral features. Enoki needed to say nothing at all.

"I know it seemed to you to be this beautiful thing, this grand adventure. That Jyota had promised you the world and more. I saw it in you the day you came to the Crossroads to enlist. You looked as giddy as a bold little pup thinking he had found something magical, found his destiny, his path to being a hero that would be sung about around war fires for generations to come. But destiny is not so easy to find, Enoki. Destiny never changes, only the path we take to get there, and that is what fate is. Not some preordained thing written in the stars like Jyota thinks, fate is the ever twisting journey that can change at the whim of the great Spirits beyond," the Orc drawled, weary, pleasantly crinkled eyes gazing up into the rafters of the hut.

As Gor'rik spoke Enoki slowly lifted his head to listen. His ears and eyes both turned to the gray, war torn Commander with a look of bewildered wonderment and need. Sensing the silent plea for him to continue, the Orc clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder and gazed directly into the viridian depths of his eyes.

"You haven't found your destiny yet," Gor'rik rumbled fondly, "That's all. Every time you think you've found it, trust me, you haven't. Someone like you especially. I've watched you here, watched you with Jyota, and you always looked like a tiger in a cage, a tethered hawk. Out of place and lost… Eyes always on the horizon. This may seem like the tragic ending, but in the end you're so young. You have your whole life ahead of you to find who you are and where you belong. Let's face it. You always were a pretty piss poor excuse for a soldier."

Gor'rik smirked fondly at the Troll and Enoki mirrored it. He took no offense to the statement at all. He was an abysmal soldier and he had made no efforts to remedy himself. He ignored orders, slept in, misused equipment and remained completely unapologetic. Enoki existed the way he decreed and by his own creed. He never felt bound to his duty the way Jyota did. His grunt work had always been an annoyance, something to endure, and a monotonous chore alleviated only by causing mischief. More than once he had been pulled aside, lectured, or sentenced to extra cleaning for his flagrant disregard for rules and order but the small shreds of fun he found in it had all been worth the punishments.

"Yeah, I know," Enoki chuckled hoarsely in reply.

His emerald green eyes, clear at last, flicked longingly toward the door where the last vestiges of sunlight were disappearing. The horizon had all but vanished into the inky cover of night. He could not see where the sun had touched it last and bid his tiny space of the world farewell for the night, but he knew all too well where it always sank into the darkness. It lay in repose in the west, where the continent ended and the Great Sea began, touching the unknown wilds of the Eastern Kingdoms he had only heard tales about.

Gor'rik let the young recruit have his moment of silence and reflection and shared it with him. He witnessed a man at a crossroads and he could only hope that this time Enoki chose a better path.

"Good to know, but a soldier you still are and as your commander I think you need something productive to do," Gor'rik said at last with a slap of both meaty palms on his thighs.

"Eh…? Productive? EH? Oy! Dat means work don't it?! I thought yah said yah wasn't here tah give me no ordahs! Yah lyin' old fossil! Where do yah get off switchin' things up on me like dat?!" the flabbergasted Enoki spat.

Gor'rik merely laughed as he hoisted his aching body up off of his flour sack perch and leaned heavily on a support column.

"Relax! Relax! I just thought of something you'll enjoy! And think of it as your punishment for your… Stress relief, shall we say?" he said wryly as he gestured to the wreckage around them.

Enoki's face immediately washed over in a blank, steel-jawed expression of guilt and his ears flattened back against his head.

"Oh right… Dat…"

"Yes, that. And you're going to clean up the mess you made my hot tempered little friend. I'm sending you on a little trip first thing in the morning to Ratchet to replace what you destroyed. Whole damn port's filled with Goblin traders, so you should be able to get everything, and whatever you can't buy there you can still definitely order, got it?" Gor'rik said in his usual gruff, commanding baritone.

"Yes, sir…" Enoki replied glumly.

The Troll was seriously doubtful his little errand was something he would enjoy, but orders were orders and it would at least get him out of camp for a few days.

"Good! Meet me tomorrow after breakfast right back here at this supply hut, I'll have a cart and two of our finest Kodo beasts for you as well as a list of what we need now," Gor'rik continued as he made his way to the door in brisk, military step.

The Orc paused before his exeunt, however, and crossed his arms thoughtfully across his chest. His dark eyes closed and an almost mischievous grin played across his thick lips.

"Oh and when you come back," he said casually, like an afterthought, "We'll have to be sure and renew your enlistment. Official tours of duty only last a year. Paperwork, bureaucratic nonsense so we know how many warm bodies we're supposed to have and all that drivel. It's just a formality. Some damn good soldiers choose to just… Go on and do something else. Pity really…"

Gor'rik cast one final, unreadable smile over his shoulder at the still thoroughly bewildered Enoki, stepped out into the Barrens dusk, and was gone.

Enoki remained as he sat there on his flour sacks and finally remembered to breathe. Gor'rik's words resonated in his skull long after the sound of his footsteps disappeared and the last of the light faded from the land, and mockingly failed to make any kind of reasonable sense. In the back of his mind he knew that he would have to renew his enlistment at some point. It was basic, inevitable procedure and he hadn't given it much thought during the year he had been stationed at the Barrens. Why his Commander had chosen to remind him as such at that moment seemed to him out of place and strange. Enoki could scarcely imagine he was urging him to leave his troops, but the more he thought about it the more it sounded that way.

At least he had something other than Jyota to ruminate over, he thought as his wits returned to him and he remembered he had yet to partake of dinner. The Shaman finally rose from the flour sacks then and wiped his nose with a loud snort. He swallowed thickly through his tear tightened throat, coughed noisily to clear it and smoothed back his hair in an attempt to make himself look somewhat presentable and avoid perhaps a concerned query or two around the mess fires that night. Though he knew everyone would be asking anyway and Enoki found himself caring very little. The initial bite of anguish and the rift in his heart were numb for the soothing violence and for the seed of thought his Commander had artfully planted where the passion for Jyota had once thrived.

With the cryptic, puzzle of a statement still the foremost thought buzzing frenetically inside his skull Enoki finally walked on stiff, unsteady legs out of the hut and toward the center of the encampment. As he suspected once he arrived he was met with a hurricane of questions, hugs, slaps on the back and a combination of sympathetic assurances that it was true love that would find its way back to him and that Jyota had always been wrong for him and he could do much better. He barely even had a chance to speak or clarify before he was grabbed by the shoulders, shoved down to a log pleasantly near the roaring cook fires and handed a plate already laden with all his favorite mess style dishes.

Not exactly unappreciative, Enoki busied himself with ravenous eating. He satiated his deep hunger fueled by emotional turmoil and physical exertion, but mostly he hoped to deflect as much attention as he could. It worked for a time, but once he ran out of the excuse of a full mouth the Troll knew it was time to head to bed. He felt exhausted, drained, and wide-awake all at once and could only hope that sleep would come to claim him soon. Discarded clothes marked the trail where Enoki headed to his hammock, too weary to pick up after himself, and he sank down into its comfortingly uncomfortable embrace with his ears pinned back and his lanky body curled into a ball.

The redhead was the first one to turn in that night, and as the other soldiers began to file in as well, each contemplated waking him to offer their sympathies again, but each decided against it. Enoki needed his sleep, they decided, unaware it was feigned and the Troll was wide awake and listening. Being the object of such overwhelming sympathy felt flattering and annoying at the same time. While he was glad everyone was so concerned for him their incessant babying felt eerily like he was still with Jyota.

Enoki listened to the usual sounds of bedtime around him in the barracks, enjoying the routine of it privately, and before long he found himself drifting off to sleep himself despite his better judgment. It proved to be a blissfully uneventful, numb, and deep rest. The light of morning and the clamor of armor and the blaring sounds of reverie sounded as soon as he closed his eyes it seemed. He felt as if he could sleep the rest of the day away, but he forced himself up. Gor'rik had duty for him and he was about to be allowed to leave the compound and spend a good chunk of time alone on the road. After the night before, Gor'rik's little shopping trip was sounding better and better.

Enoki swung his feet over the edge of his hammock and pulled himself up, running a hand through his tousled fiery red hair and yawning. Sleepily, he hopped down to the floor and gathered up his Barrens guard raiment to dress for the day. He pulled on the leather harness clumsily and fumbled with the straps several times before he could get it to fit right. His spiked pauldrons felt uneven and weighty on his shoulders and his gloves felt like they were on the opposite hands. The heavy armor sagged stifling and hindering on his body, but he trudged his way to the supply hut despite it.

True to his word Gor'rik was standing there waiting when Enoki arrived with two young, hale looking Kodo Beasts harnessed to an empty cart. The blocky, weathered contraption boasted a small seat in front of the gated cargo zone for a driver which Gor'rik waited upon, smiling and waving to greet his young Grunt.

"Throm-ka, Enoki!" he called, beating his fist over his heart and grinning toothily, "It is an excellent morning!"

The boisterous greeting drew an unconscious half smile over Enoki's lips and he returned the warm gesture over his own chest.

"Mornin', s'pose it is kinda nice, if yah don' gotta play errand boy," he joked.

"Now now," Gor'rik chastised as he eased himself off of the cart, hit the ground, and dusted off his hands, "I told you, this is a favor, don't take it so lightly! You'll have fun!"

Enoki shuffled toward him and craned his head over the well-traveled wooden vessel with an appraising eye. Though wearing its age in proud dents, splinters, and metal bracers, the thing looked still as if it could be piled high with supplies and still make the trip across the Barrens with jostling, bumpy ease.

"In dis t'ing…?" he asked in disbelief.

Gor'rik whipped his head back to look at it, quirked one heavy grayed brow and turned back with a deadpan expression.

"What's wrong with it?" he queried simply.

Enoki closed his eyes with a chuckle and held his three-fingered hands up in the air, defeated.

"Ah, nothin' nothin'," he hastily assured his Commander.

"Good. Now it's quite simple, I know you know how to ride, and the commands for these lovely fellows are much the same, here, watch me," Gor'rik instructed, beckoning the young Troll to his side.

He showed him the proper way to control a cart animal in painstaking detail, which Enoki stopped paying attention to after about three words. He was confident in his abilities to command the beasts of burden and was more anxious to start his journey and escape the noisy monotony of his patrol duties. All nuances and facets of the barracks and the Horde hub of defense of their homelands were beginning to feel disturbingly nostalgic. Everything was hazy, distant, and awash in dreamy monotone colors; much the same way he remembered Aykwani village. It gave him the distinct impression that he had already left the only home he had known for an entire year behind, even though his emerald eyes still gazed upon the flaxen savannah and the towering red Horde canopies crowned in guardian spines.

All he could do was channel that restless energy and stale sentimentality into his constant, powerful desire to leave and boldly shirk Gor'rik's meticulous instructions.

"Bah! Move! Dere ain' dat much tah dis!" Enoki finally interrupted.

He snatched the reins from the Orc's hands and swung himself nimbly into the stiff wooden driver's seat worn smooth over the years into the perfect shape. A cocky grin flashed across his face and he lifted his long nose haughtily into the air with a hand thrust out expectantly.

"Slap de list'a supplies on me mon, Enoki got dis covahed!"

Gor'rik snickered and handed him a tightly rolled piece of parchment upon which the list of everything that needed to be replaced had been scrawled.

"Alright alright, I can see you're eager to have this over with. Now don't forget anything, check things off on the list as you buy them, and use that clever Troll brain of yours. If you see something we might need that's not on the list, get it," the Orc elaborated, patting Enoki on his russet head.

His opposite hand unhooked a burgeoning sack of gold pieces from his belt and he placed it carefully into a hidden compartment just beside Enoki under the driver's seat.

"This is the money you are to use, but we expect change," he continued with a smirk, "Though you are certainly free to spend your own stipend on anything you wish. We have provided enough cash to spend a night in the inn in Ratchet should you need it, as well as a meal or two, and… Uh, well-! Other than that, I guess you're all set. Don't dawdle, don't break anything, and get a move on!"

With that, Gor'rik gave the cart a fond pat, stepped back, and raised a meaty palm in farewell.

"Aka'magosh, Enoki! Good travels!"

Enoki flashed him a bright grin and graced him with a crooked salute, saying nothing, for that was all the farewell he needed to give. The crisp crack of the reins sounded through the air and roused the Kodos into a chorus of eager bellows. Their powerful bodies rippled, hooves beat a rousing thrum against the dusty earth, and the rickety cart performed the wobbling, groaning symphony of the beginning of their journey together. Cart and rider bounced merrily through the Horde encampment and left a high plume of golden dust in their wake as they made their way out into the wilds of the Barrens toward the road that would lead them to The Crossroads and eventually to the Goblin port city of Ratchet.

Enoki sat back into his worn, wooden seat and settled in for the long journey with the reins in his hands and his feet propped up against the front rail of the vehicle. The Barrens stretched out in its infinity before him and beckoned him toward the distant, hazy line of the horizon which hid a new and exciting city like a seductive secret. He had never seen the ocean either, or bartered with a Goblin merchant, or seen the huge ships that were rumored to dock at the busy, neutral port, all of which titillated his insatiable curiosity which had been rather neglected in his mundane, daily military routine. With a renewed hope in at least getting to roam free for a few days and see new things, Enoki set out on his first real journey since the day he had left his childhood home behind.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: **Oh my god what? REALLY? HONESTLY?!? YES! Another chapter! OMFG and it's such a boring one too I am SO SO SORRY GAIZ. UM!

Enoki reexamines his life, and sees exactly what had been right in front of his nose all along.

And this is officially the second to last chapter. Chapter 14 will be the end of this installment of Wanderlust and then onto the second!! Wooo!!

**Chapter 13**

The journey, while ripe with potentiality and hope, proved to be a tragically uneventful event just as he had predicted. The pack Kodos were strong, but slow, perfect for hauling goods and ensuring that they stayed put instead of jostling about and ending up in pieces by the time they arrived at their destination. Terrible, however, for providing a restless Troll with any kind of amusement on a long trek through a painfully drab landscape. Enoki slumped miserably in his seat in various positions, either counting the Zhevras and Giraffes or watching the tawny, sun browned hills rolling past and trying to count the scraggly trees dotting them; anything to prevent his brain from wandering back toward Jyota.

Though thinking about not thinking about Jyota only made him think about Jyota more and with literally nothing better to occupy his thoughts they turned to the violet-haired hunter yet again. Never before in his short life had the Shaman felt so betrayed, furious, and utterly alone. When his grandfather had died there was at least the rousing thought of his grand journey to find his beautiful, elusive love. He had drive, passion and purpose with the role of the adventurous young hero to play. When he had found Jyota so soon he still had the game of their exciting courtship, of finding ways around their duties to steal away and claim one moment of romance for just the two of them. With Jyota gone everything he had ever imagined for himself was gone with him.

Enoki never really saw himself in the military and nothing had changed. In fact the prospect of signing up for another tour of duty, doing the exact same things and living in the exact same place made him nearly physically ill. It was all he could do to keep from leaning over the side of the cart and retching amidst strings of colorful curse words. He only briefly entertained the thought that perhaps he could go home. All that was waiting for him there were memories long gone, an empty house, and nothing to do. There was still the possibility of Gor'rik's cryptic message to him the night prior in the store house, but he had yet to clearly decipher what exactly he meant.

It was a veritable toss up between either covertly trying to tell him he was a failure of a solider and he was better off leaving the Barrens and taking up pottery or basket weaving, or trying to tell him that no one really wanted him around other than Jyota and now that they were no longer an item it was best for everyone if he just left. Either option made him spark with anger without even meaning to, which spooked the Kodos and nearly caused them to run off the road and toward a pride of very hungry looking lions. Finally, Enoki decided it was better to just imagine what Ratchet and the sea must look like as hard as he possibly could and put everything else from his mind.

The Troll spent the rest of the journeying for that day with his eyes focused on his forgotten horizon and a re-envisioned adventure to lands unknown weaving itself into colorful mental being. When night fell, he pulled the cart off the road and under a plump, squat tree with a vast canopy of spindly branches and curled into the cargo area under a coarse blanket to sleep. Long ago, he imagined as he drifted off, adventurers from Kalimdor must have traveled the same route he did to get to the sea, wide-eyed and eager to see what lay beyond. He dreamt of the salty spray in his face and through his hair, the call of gulls triumphant in the air around him to herald the start of his voyage, guided on a grand ship by the stars that watched over him as he slept.

Morning only brought back the dry and dusty heat of the Barrens' sun with the agitated lowing of the Kodos eager to get moving. Reluctantly, Enoki splashed a little water on his face, brushed back his hair, and gave his beasts of burden a small breakfast of dried grain before they continued their exodus to the Goblin city by the sea. Enoki chewed a bit of dried jerky as they rode, not wanting to waste more time than they had to, and turned his emerald eyes up to the sky for the second leg of his trip. Dusty golden grasses, wildlife he had seen every day of his life for a year, and the endless sprawl of unremarkable topography were inadequate entertainment for even one day's journey, much less a second, so Enoki laid himself across the driver's seat, folded his arms behind his head and let the Kodos pilot themselves with the reins held loosely between his two toes.

The sky above The Barrens was an endless and clear cornflower blue with but a few long wispy strands of white draped against it. Enoki had loved watching clouds back in much milder climated Mulgore where they sat fat and thick overhead and constantly morphed into fascinating patterns and shapes. Often it was to shirk training, or just for the sake of laziness and hiding from Inali's yammering if only for an afternoon, but frequently it was more to clear his own mind. Immersing himself in nothing but blue and white and listening to the soft whispers of the wind transported him to a different world. He could almost hear the stories of places the gentle breezes had been in common tongues. Sometimes he even swore he could smell exotic foods and spices, hear the calls of creatures he had only heard tales of, or languages of people he knew nothing about.

That place between the heavens and the earth Inali had taught him was a sacred place, and as a young whelp he had been able to feel it. Even though the cart bumped and jostled beneath him, and the wind smelled only of dust he remembered, and let himself be transported. Eventually, Enoki dozed, and the sun wheeled unrelenting across the sky and took the day along with it. As it approached the horizon on the west side of the world it trailed a fiery train of much thicker clouds in its wake; clouds unknown to the sun baked savannah. The smell of salt and cool mist wove themselves into the quickening breeze, and as Enoki roused from drifting in and out of sleep, a flash of motion and a flurry of wings high above brought him wide-eyed out of the realm of dreams.

A flock of soaring black and white gulls sailed overhead, calling to each other and riding the coastal eddies with all the ease and confidence of a dragon. Enoki sat bolt upright at the sight and watched them for but a moment before the cart crested the gentle slope of the hill and unveiled the bustling inlet of water that was the port of Ratchet.

Proud ships' masts pierced into the strata across the entire shoreline with their crisp sails neatly furled, rigging making a dizzying maze, and their flags billowing in the wind. They bore colors from every nation on Azeroth, being a neutral port, and as he drew closer Enoki could see patrons of every race and creed patrolling the streets. Goblins scurried around them all, handing out pamphlets and coupons, standing on soapboxes with megaphones and mechanical creatures at their beck and call and pushing unwilling patrons into their stores. Their city was jammed in tight against the sharp decline down to the ocean with eclectic buildings covered in advertisements. Gears and cogs controlled all manner of cockamamie machinery and thickly smoking pipes spewed merrily into the air. Near the shore there was even a building topped with the biggest, most crooked spyglass the young Troll had ever seen in his life; its lens slowly swiveling and surveying the ocean for potential customers.

Enoki grinned. His heart raced with renewed excitement and he snapped the reins of his kodo to drive them faster onward. As he passed a young female Goblin barked a welcome at him, as well as something about keeping his nose clean, but he paid her no heed. All he wanted to do was inspect and explore the city unlike anything he had ever seen. The crowds milling about the streets parted for the Horde cart willingly and swallowed him into the tide of life teeming through the entire port.

Everywhere he looked there were sights, sounds, smells, and sensations that outshone even the bustling hub that The Crossroads was when he first entered it. As he forged his way deeper, toward the hill upon which the inn was nestled comfortably, a shady looking human man with a tri-corner hat, a sharp face, and an equally sharp looking black dog at his heels used his cart to vanish from the eyes of the guards watching him. Enoki turned over his shoulder just in time to see the tail end of his cape and the tail of his dog pass into a side door of a shop, and for a rather imposing looking Draenei with a scarred lip and standoffish countenance to close it and return to his sentry post with his thick arms crossed over his barrel chest. Enoki had never seen the towering, hoofed creatures from a distant world, and he gawked unashamed until someone screeched at him to look where he was going. The natural reply was, of course, to snap irritatedly to the Forsaken man to watch where he was going in turn, and the two squared off until the cart had passed and the hunched, skeletal character decided he had more important matters than teaching some upstart Troll manners.

The cart continued bumping happily along the road and drew closer to the actual docks and the coastline of the crystal clear blue water. On its journey it passed more colorful characters that made up the fabric of a port town: a dwarf with a peg leg and a smoking pipe telling a group of enthralled looking travelers what appeared to be a very tall tale, a bent old Troll in a darkened hut with incense oozing bright, oily green smoke and caressing a crystal ball, a group of old, gray seafaring retirees of all races sitting around some cargo boxes, playing cards and playfully accusing each other of cheating, and finally a line of women standing under a bright crimson awning lined in gold fringe and elaborate tassels. They were all dressed in only the finest, most revealing, and enticing of outfits to show off their ample bosoms, perfect cleavage and tantalizing curves, but even as Enoki gawked openly at them their attention was rapt elsewhere.

A tall, striking Troll was leaned roguishly against the wall beside them; flirting shamelessly and delighting in the chorus of giggles he was getting. He was dressed from head to toe in jet-black leather, and what could be seen of his skin was dark violet and riddled with scars. His handsome face was pleasant and his smile easy and beguiling, all of it framed in wild, unkempt teal hair that looked windswept even under the protective awning away from the coastal breezes. The left side of his face was split by a jagged, angry looking scar, his ruined eye concealed by a battered patch, but it only seemed to add to his charming and mysterious airs and make the women more drawn to him. A particularly puckish and brazen Blood Elf pointed to a wanted poster nailed into the wall beside the entrance of the shop they were loitering beside and everyone, including Enoki, turned to see it bore a striking resemblance to the man they were all so entranced with.

A few giggles, teasing shakes of their hips and breasts, and puckered lips toward a wanted criminal were enough to finally get the attention of the Bruisers, however. The one-eyed Rogue was forced to grin, bow, and offer his ladies a promise of later that night before he tore off down the street, laughing, the armed Goblin guards in hot pursuit. Enoki grinned to himself and cupped his hands over his mouth to tell the stranger to run for it. Anyone bold enough to flirt under his own wanted poster more than deserved to get away with it, he thought.

Ratchet was certainly not the same type of city Enoki was used to, but for that he loved it all the more. He could have spent the rest of the day perched in his cart simply watching the cast of characters passing through, but the fact that he had that bulky, embarrassing cart with him and that he was dressed in the unmistakable raiment of a Barrens guard reminded him there were matters to attend to. He certainly couldn't be mistaken for any of the seasoned adventurers heading off to the next leg of their endless journeys. A twinge of cold jealousy crept up his spine, and he forced his attention away from the colorful life teeming around him and headed up to the inn to check in.

Gor'rik had promised him one night in the inn, and damned if he wasn't going to make good on that. He desired to stay gone as long as he possibly could, and as much as he hated to admit it his commander had been right. The busy port was thrilling for him. He had delighted in even entering the place, and he was actually looking forward to going shopping, even if it had to be in his uniform. If he got all his duties done that meant the more time he could spend simply looking around and shopping for himself, so the moment he had a key and a room promised to him he struck out into the city.

Gor'rik's list was fairly straightforward. Foodstuffs, some ore, a few replacement weapons, nothing out of the ordinary. The medical supplies proved to be a bit difficult to find, but once he finally found the apothecary the surprisingly pleasant Forsaken woman had everything he needed and then some. Bag by bag and box by box he filled his wagon to capacity and merrily checked off each item on the list. By the time the sun had fully set he was finished and after taking the cart back to the inn to lock up securely with his Kodos he gathered up what was left of the money entrusted to him and headed out on foot to find a place to eat dinner. As long as he was on the Horde's dime, he figured, he might as well.

That evening, Locke Goldbolt the tailor, owner of Goldbolt's Adverturer's Emporium, was just closing up shop when he smelled one last sale. The redheaded Troll dressed in the Barrens Guard armor that passed by his shop counting his gold naively in public looked as if he would rather be wearing dirty dish rags sewn together than the stifling leather and metal. It was his business to know when someone needed his services, and he hadn't earned the name Goldbolt for nothing. The Troll looked nothing like a soldier. He wore his uniform like it was an obligation instead of an honor, and his bright emerald eyes were miles away. The perfect mark. Before Enoki could get away from him the Goblin scurried out into the streets, waving his hands and hailing him.

"Hey kid! Wait up a sec! Boy, have I got what YOU need!"

Enoki stopped in his tracks and looked around for the source of the voice, confused. Annoyed, Locke cleared his throat and tapped his thigh.

"Down here!" he insisted as pleasantly as he could muster.

The Shaman glanced down and smirked at the sight of the salesman that was all smiles despite the insult.

"Oh, dere yah are, whatcha want?' he asked, holding back a laugh.

Locke grinned a suave, slick grin and put his hands on his hips pointedly.

"Oh, it isn't what I want… It's what you want. Like I said. I think I have JUST what you need," the Goblin continued with a thumb over his shoulder toward his shop.

Enoki looked up, and his eyes met with the words emblazoned in bold, inviting red and gold above the shop's door. For a moment it seemed unreal. That store with its quirky, crooked lettering and racks filled with the beautiful clothes only legendary heroes from campfire stories wore could not possibly exist in real life. Life was sand, an itchy, uncomfortable hammock and flavorless stewed beef eaten off of a tin plate. Life was shades of orange and brown tinting backbreaking, sweaty, tedious labor. Life was looking off into the horizon and wishing he were someplace else, anyplace else. Locke watched the longing flickering over Enoki's face and steepled his fingers greedily.

"Go on in! Take a look around! I'm sure you'll find something that suits your fancy," he crooned.

Enoki merely smirked.

"In case yah hadn't noticed, pal. I be stuck in dis get-up. What de hell use would a soldier have fah dis stuff anyway?" he scoffed.

Undaunted, Locke spread his arms invitingly toward his wares.

"Even a soldier has need for a proper traveling outfit!" he chirruped, "Why, think if you were dispatched up to Winterspring? Or even across the sea to Stranglethorn Vale? To Alterac Valley? Soldiers never remain at one station too long, and how would you fare in your journey in that meager outfit? Preposterous! And besides! What happens if you quit the military hmmm? You should be prepared for anything!"

Enoki's lips twisted amusedly as he half listened to the Goblin's enthusiastic sales pitch. He was doubtless that the Horde would provide proper traveling gear for him should he be transferred elsewhere. No one he knew back at the Barracks had much else other than perhaps a coat for the occasional storms over the Barrens, but even still, he found himself drifting into the store. There was no harm in just looking, after all. The clothes and gear inside were like nothing he had ever seen and if he could spend just a moment of escapism trying them on it would be worth listening to the high-pitched living advertisement following him inside.

The store was appropriately decorated in all manner of gear one would think to find in a so-called Adventurer's Emporium. The walls were papered in old, peeling maps, old art of well-known travelers, explorers and heroes. Trophy heads, guns, swords, and even horns and antlers occupied the rest of the free space. The floor was packed from wall to wall with racks of any and all types of armor Enoki could even think of. There were tunics, pants, undershirts and cloaks in every color of the rainbow and every pattern imaginable. Touches of décor from every race in the world seemed to grace each rack as well. Some boasted wolf fur cloaks with Orcish war patterns, others tunics with elegant gold embroidery of phoenixes and the sun, cool purples with feathers and glyphs of the moon and stars, even proud lions, crossed hammers, and gears.

Locke had learned long ago that Ratchet was a neutral port, and as any good Goblin would he strove to please literally any potential customer that could possibly come through his door. Enoki gawked in complete rapture of his life's work, unable to get enough of the colors, spices, and flares from every corner of Azeroth. Sensing the awe in his young patron he grinned and puffed out his chest proudly.

"Impressive, no? I designed some of this, some of it I actually traded for! I've got real Dwarf, Human, Orc, and yes, even Elf made stuff in here! The real deal!" he piped.

If Enoki heard him, he gave no indication, and was content to drift off and vanish into the jungle of fabrics without another word. He ran his hands through every rack as he passed. Fur, silk, leather, chain mail, even plate caressed his hands in return and glittered tauntingly in his wake. He picked up tunics, pants, and capes and held them up to his body, laughing when they were ridiculous and smiling sadly when he could almost see himself donning it each day. The occasional mirror reflecting a mere Barrens guard was always there, however, to remind him of why he was in Ratchet to begin with.

Enoki tried to ignore them and enjoy himself, but each time he found a rare article that excited him it seemed another reflection was always waiting. Even the most glorious of cloaks still betrayed the spiked pauldrons underneath, awkward and bulky over his broad shoulders with the points of metal mockingly denting it. The fur-lined ankle wraps still showed in the floor length mirrors no matter what he held against his body, and no matter what the fabric and how tight he pressed it the leather of his harness always touched him first.

Slowly, tragically, what had been a thrilling delve into escape became a grim reminder of fate. He had nowhere and no one to go to. All he had was the Barrens. It loomed, dark and malicious, on his horizons and blurred the light into a hazy, endless sea of dusk. Disheartened and unable to bear the disappointment, he put down the coat of chain mail he had been holding and turned toward the door to go with a sigh, but as he turned, one last flash of red caught his eye and silently beckoned him to stay. He paused, and gazed slowly up along the tailor's dummy garbed in the most singularly glorious regalia Enoki had ever had the privilege to gaze upon.

It began with a pair of simple, cuffed black leather ankle wraps laid carefully against the stand that buckled at the ankle and calf and were secured with a few leather straps that wound haphazardly around them. Next came the pants, which only reached mid-calf and were dyed a rich earthen brown and accented in brilliant geometric green obviously Troll designed patterns. A strip of the chain mail lining them could be seen through a decorative slit down the outside of each thigh, and they were tied off with a simple black leather belt with a tribal clasp. The belt also held the piece of sheer beauty that had caught his attention in the first place. Astride the narrow hips of the dummy sat an asymmetrical leather kilt that swept down over the back of the legs to the knees and then wrapped around to cover only the right one. The color of the leather was a lighter dye than the pants and the tunic, but the bottom of it was vividly ablaze with tribal flames tooled and dyed so intricately they could have burned the rest of the outfit to cinders. To finish it off the whole thing was topped with a matching leather tunic that fastened flat against the right side of his body to line up with the kilt, and the most striking element of all; a billowing, plain red cloak with a hood that wrapped around the shoulders and upper part of the body, and then split down the right side and flared out heroically.

Locke was about to bodily block the door as best he could to entice the Troll to reconsider leaving, but grinned as one of his most prized sets captivated him instead. He hurried over and gestured to it with the outmost of pride which still did not stray the enraptured emerald eyes.

"Ah yes! One of my very finest pieces. All the finest leather lined with mithril! This was given to me by a Darkspear Shaman a year or so ago, on his way to devote his life to the Warchief in Orgrimmar and the sprits and what have you and no longer needing his traveling clothes. He drove a hard bargain that one, but I managed to get the clothes for a good price! Afraid I can't let them go for TOO little, seeing as how fine they are and all, but I'd be more than happy to go back and draw up some installment plans we can discuss? I'll even put on a pot of coffee how's that sound? In fact why don't I even see if I'm still running a special on buy a set, get the boots free! Seeing as these don't even have soles I can't in good faith charge you full price for boots anyway!"

The Goblin prattled on, but Enoki again heard absolutely nothing of what he said. All he could see, all he could hear, all he could feel, were those clothes on him, a wandering, traveling Shaman with nothing but the sky above and the ground underneath Zynn's feet, riding off into the sunset with that beautiful cape like a train of fire behind him. Finally, everything made sense.

Gor'rik had always seen the wanderlust in him, it was Enoki who had denied it. It had been given many names over the years. Inali had called it youth. Cygnus had called it destiny. On his own he had called it Jyota, but now he finally understood what it truly was. It was his calling, a deep, ancient, beautiful call of the earth to wander and see it all. It was never about youthful restlessness, it was never about finding his place in the world, and it was especially never about Jyota. His soul yearned to be free and wild as the elements themselves and all the sorrow in his small world had come from trying to cage himself. No longer, he promised himself, as his fists curled tightly at his sides and the long forgotten bold, reckless grin spread across his lips.

He would cage himself no longer.

"I'll take it," Enoki finally interjected into Locke's haggling with himself.

The Goblin stopped himself, eyes wide.

"You'll- Whu huh?" he spluttered, "But we haven't set a price!"

Enoki threw his head back and laughed wildly, turning to face Locke with a devious glint in his eye.

"I don' care. I said I'll take it! All of it! Wrap it up nice in a box an' have it up at de in tomorrow mornin' first thing!" he continued, and proceeded to drop his entire sack of coins at the feet of the astounded clothier.

Locke's eyes greedily reflected the flash of gold as the coins leapt cheerily from the bag and splashed back in against themselves. He grinned and swept in a low, humble bow to quickly snatch the burlap container up before the patron could change his mind.

"Yes sir! Of course sir! First light I will be there!"

Enoki allowed the Goblin to scurry off victoriously while he remained to look at his new effects lovingly. He reached out and laid a hand gently on the bright silver clasps holding the mail-lined leather tunic shut, noting then they were shaped like tribal curls of air, and smirking.

"See yah tomorrow…" he murmured to the clothes, turned, and was gone.

After all, he still had to eat dinner, and if he could, catch the weapon smith before it was closed for the night as well.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him through the darkening streets of Ratchet toward the all too familiar smell of sulfur and hot iron, Enoki did find the blacksmith. Though they had stopped working for the day, they were still at the shop sitting back and enjoying a pipe and a drink of good crisp bourbon before retiring for the night. The sooty, burly Goblins were more than happy to allow Enoki to look at the wares they had available for sale, however, and joked with him as he perused. Axes were what he was most accustomed to, having been trained by Orcs for the most part, and it was on the rack of freshly forged axes that he found just what he was looking for.

A pair of light, nimble twin axes with blades like a breath of wind and decorated to represent the eastern and the western currents hung and twinkled invitingly as the street lamps were lit behind him. They instantly reminded him of the clasps that held his new beloved tunic together. Without a second thought Enoki handed over the last of his own savings to make them his.

Too broke to afford dinner, but tingling with excitement, Enoki carried his new weapons back to the inn to see what food he could salvage from his travel rations. Though he found himself almost too excited to eat, and after forcing himself to choke down just a hard biscuit he laid down and curled up to just go to sleep and greet the dawn that much sooner. A feeling like no other wrapped itself warmly around him as he drifted off with a wicked grin on his lips for the first time in years.

Before him lay the life he had always wanted, deep down, but had never embraced. He always had some dream to chase, some idea, some calling, some plan. It was not until that day he realized he didn't need a plan, and that not having one was what he yearned for. He would find ways to survive, make money, eat, and get by, he wasn't the least bit worried about that. All that mattered to him anymore was the euphoric feeling of freedom the mere idea of leaving the Barrens brought him. He could go wherever he wanted, see whatever he wanted, be anything he wanted. At last he could see the places the winds and waters had whispered about scantly to tease him. He could taste the exotic foods he sometimes smelled, hear the music, see the people, be a part of the planet in its entirety instead of living out his existence as a cardinal point on a map, fixed and unmoving. His fire would consume Azeroth and all of its wonders at last.

He was free.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: ** Holy crap, I FINISHED SOMETHING?? STOP THE PRESSES! ALERT THE PRESIDENT! RED ALERT!!

Wow but seriously, I FINALLY finished this introduction to my series after many long horrible years of interrupted work, and I think I finally have my groove on. This last chapter was a breeze and a pleasure to write, and I can FINALLY get to what the series is really supposed to be about! Enoki's misadventures in Azeroth X3 I feel this introduction really was a good thing though! Despite how long it took me to write it ;; ANYWAYS! Enjoy the end, and look forward to seeing Enoki again soon in a brand new fic!

Also, many MANY thanks to mai aibou for putting up with me flinging this and whining for betas and also just whining about it in general Thanks to Tali for also putting up with my whining and emo moments about this and encouraging me to keep going. Thanks to PiePie for letting me tease her relentlessly about it, and being so excited for new chapters it made me want to finish :T And finally thanks to everyone who read this and stuck by it! I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to read my hard work X3 I look forward to hearing from you all again!

**Chapter 14**

The next morning, at dawn, Locke Goldbolt was there with his package just as he promised. Enoki took it and loaded it onto his cart with many thanks, and gave the Goblin his usual crooked salute as he peeled out of the drive of the inn and headed back on the path out of Ratchet. He didn't even bother saying goodbye to it, for he knew he would see it again in due time, and that many times his path might just flow through the busy, eccentric port town that had irrevocably changed his life.

The journey back through the Barrens to the barracks seemed to take an eternity, even despite the fact he was actually sitting up in the driver's seat and urging the Kodos on. His heart raced with excitement the whole way, and his mind whirred as he plotted his grand escape. He couldn't very well just do things by the book anymore. He had hated living by the book, and the only proper way to cast off the shackles of societal convention was to defenestrate everything that had bogged him down in the most spectacular of manners. He had all but forgotten that he was, at his core, a prankster and a joker and he was happily compelled to leave that legacy behind. There was also still the matter of Jyota. Jyota no longer caused him pain, but he wasn't about to let him go without at least etching himself inexorably into his memory forever. He needed a grand scheme, to go out with a proverbial bang, and he occupied his mind with planning as he traversed the same route back as he had come.

It took him the same two days to return back to the Barracks, but the morning he watched the familiar buildings crowned in red awnings and spikes rise into view from the ocean of flaxen grasses they no longer made him feel as if he were returning to a cell. That morning, they were only buildings. The Barracks was merely a place he was passing through, the way it always should have been. Enoki had spent well over a year of his life there, but he felt no sorrow as he rode the cart through the center of the encampment and bid each and every structure a farewell with a salute, just as he had done when he left Aykwani Village.

Most of the Barrens militia was just awakening from their sleep and heading to breakfast around the campfires. A few waved in delight to see their redheaded, boisterous Shaman back and Enoki waved cheerily in return, but he did not stop to talk. He was on a mission. He drove the cart back to the supply hut and simply parked it outside. The Kodos went happily back into their stables as he lead them and he too bid them a fond farewell before he picked up the one, beautiful box that was meant for him. He admired it in the morning light, remembering what it contained, and with a wild grin turned and ran to the bunk where he had laid his head every night during his tour of duty in the Military.

There, he found it mercifully empty, and he set the clothing down on his old hammock to change out of his armor one last time. As he gleefully stripped out of the heavy spiked metal and worn leather he laughed and drowned in the feeling of being himself once more. Each piece of armor clattered pleasantly as he hurled it to the dusty ground and one by one replaced them with the raiment of a true Shaman.

The beautiful chain mail pants slid over his legs and fastened over his narrow waist like they had been made for him. The flame kilt fell neatly around his knees and the tunic embraced him with its smooth lining and welcoming scent of leather, metal and the dust of roads. His hands fit into the fur lined, studded and fingerless gloves effortlessly and with everything else in place, boots, belt, and axes, it was at last time for the crowning glory. With reverent hands Enoki lifted the red cloak out of the box and held it at arm's length to admire it, scarcely able to believe it was really his.

The sturdy silken fabric rippled, shone, and sang just like liquid flame as the Shaman swung it around and draped it over his shoulders. It fell snugly into place over the sleek pauldrons covering them closely and protectively and left only the elegant fringes against his neck visible. He fastened it on his left side instead of his right, pinning it closed over his heart, and let the cape flutter into place around his striking form. He stood there a moment fully dressed, just feeling the clothes on him and all they portended for him. The weight of the cape and the shoulder guards, coupled with the friendly weights of the axes at his sides comforted him and encouraged him in a way he could not explain. The armor fit snugly, but allowed him to move in all the right ways, almost as if it had been tailored to fit not only his body, but his destiny as well.

Enoki glanced down to the pile of armor littered over the floor and smirked remorselessly as he stooped to gather it.

"Sorreh. Mebbe you'll protect someone who need protectin' in de future," he apologized jokingly to the battered set and carried it outside the barrack door.

The usual rack of practice weapons and standard issue implements that stood outside the door for the guards was empty save for a few axes and a long spear; just as he had planned. Upon it, he draped the entirety of his armor in a vaguely humanoid pattern. The pauldrons plopped over the top of the rack, the harness hung from the top bars down the middle, and he hung the pants from that. The boots he left propped up against it and the gloves he hung comically from either end. The final touch came in the form of filching a burned scrap of charcoal from a nearby brazier long since extinguished and scrawling on the burnished metal, "_See you suckers_!" complete with a troll face razzing whomever should pass by with its devious eyes and prominent tongue.

Enoki admired his farewell, tossing the charcoal in his hand. After a moment of thought, he knelt in front of the rack and scrawled in addition on the wood beside his scarecrow armor, "_Thanks for everything_." He tossed his bit of coal aside, dusted off his hands, and nodded once, then turned to steal off into the camp to exact the rest of his plan.

The first stop was Jyota's room in the Officer's quarters. He approached with caution, creeping along the wall on his toes, back pressed to the mortar wall, but just as he expected the entire building was entirely empty. A blast of white-hot fire took care of the lock on the door, and one firm, victorious kick opened his former lover's quarters with a sound bang. Inside it was dark, silent, and empty. Perfect, Enoki thought with a wickedly gleeful grin. He stole inside on silent feet and immediately began rifling through the Hunter's possessions.

Enoki tore through his room like a whirlwind, leaving nothing untouched. He scattered his maps and papers to the floor, ripped the sheets from his bed, even overturned the mattress, pulled out very box and chest until at last he found what he was looking for. In another locked chest stashed stealthily in one of the bottom drawers, which again proved no match for a concentrated blast of fire into the metal to melt the locking mechanism, he found Jyota's personal stores of money. The golden, silver, and bronze coins glittered merrily up at him from the velvet-lined receptacle and he plunged his hand in to help himself.

"Thanks fah de charitable donation," Enoki cackled quietly and popped open the leather satchel attached to his new belt to ladle in as much cash as it could carry with his hand.

Once Jyota was nearly cleaned out and his coin purse could accommodate no more, Enoki stood and left as quietly and swiftly as a breeze. From the Officer's Quarters he headed straight for the stables where, as usual, only a few beasts remained tethered. One of which happened to be his beloved Zynn.

The towering, crimson raptor paced back and forth in his stall, tugging on the bridle that tied him to a post and chomping irritatedly at his bit. The bowl of raw steaks that had been his breakfast was licked clean and then knocked over upside down. Hay was strewn all around the outside of enclosure and there were fresh bite marks in the wooden walls and door of the pen. He clearly had been cooped up the entire time Enoki had been gone, and the scowling Troll ran the last part of the way to his side.

"Zynn! Zynn, buddeh I'm home!" he called elatedly.

Zynn lifted his head and turned it swiftly from side to side, his turquoise eyes blinking owlishly. Upon seeing Enoki he chattered and whistled urgently to his beloved master finally returning to him and ducked his head into the lanky arms that rose to encircle his neck. Enoki hugged the cool scaly neck preciously close and buried his face into the smooth red armor.

"Don' worreh boy," Enoki whispered to his mount, "We gettin' de hell outta dis place, an' you nevah gonna be stuck like dis again. Neiddah'a us gonna be stuck nowhere no more."

The Shaman grinned and stroked Zynn's chest, then ran off to the supply shed to fetch a saddle and a blanket. He returned, readied his mount and secured the leather straps around his serpentine body, then finally opened the pen door to lead him out by his reins. The raptor nearly took off running right then and there, stayed only by a sharp tug and a chiding from his Troll master. He allowed Enoki to mount him begrudgingly afterwards, and obeyed his commands to head toward the center of the encampment where his rider hoped everyone was still gathered.

Only one thing remained, and that was to bid farewell to Jyota for good. Enoki couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he rode up heroically, told him off, and left him in his dusty wake as he rode off and out of the Barrens forever. His hands tightened on the reins, his feet dug harder into Zynn's sides, and the raptor coursed on weightless claws through the soldiers' sleeping quarters and to the central pit where only a few stragglers remained. Jyota was nowhere to be seen. In fact the camp was oddly abandoned and quiet for that hour of the morning

Wrinkling his long nose with annoyance, Enoki spurred Zynn toward a rather shocked looking Orc captain catching a late breakfast. Raptor and rider loomed over him and blotted out the sun, wild green eyes flashing above a crooked and puckish grin.

"Oy," Enoki began commandingly, "You know where Captain Jyota be at? I got a farewell gift fah him."

The Orc pointed blankly off into the distance, toward the back of camp where the central command building stood. The imposing structure was several stories tall, and served as a meeting headquarters for all of the captains and commanders, as well as a forum for the rare occasion one of their beloved leaders would grace them with their presence. As was their custom, it seemed someone of importance was there, for the entirety of the encampment was bowed respectfully on one knee in flawless rank and file in front of the building.

"Master Vol'jin arrived this morning for him. They're at central command making the final arrangements before they return to Orgrimmar. I don't know if you'll be able to-" the captain continued, only to be interrupted.

"Dat be alright," Enoki interjected with relish, "I think I got it all taken care of…"

It couldn't have been more perfect if he had set it up himself. He had planned to just confront the soon to be Shadow Hunter at breakfast to sever their ties publicly and for good, but fate had unfolded in an entirely much more satisfying way. A prime target for mischief, mayhem, and fun opened itself wide open and Enoki hurled himself headlong into it. The Shaman's lips curled into a darkly puckish grin and he swiftly turned his mount toward the congregation of soldiers seeing their brother on to greater things. He dug his heels into Zynn's sides and both of them shot like a crack of impatient lightning toward the imposing structure.

Every soldier of the Barrens encampment where the honored brother of the Darkspear tribe, Jyota, held nothing but respect for their superior officer for getting such an opportunity and waited patiently on bended knee for him to emerge. It would be a quiet, respectful ceremony, the Troll would leave with the caravan headed back to Orgrimmar, and then everyone would return back to their normal routines. A ceremony and some celebration would be a welcome diversion from traversing the roads and rolling fields of the Barrens over again, even though they all knew they would have to return to their daily drudgery sooner or later. They expected some music, some applause some battle cries and Horde spirit, nothing more. No one was expecting a long, shrill whistle and the resounding scream of a wild raptor from behind them, and every head in the audience turned in unison.

A wild crimson blur blazed to life over the dusty hill just as they turned to look, and a strangled yelp of surprise rose from the startled soldiers as a redheaded Troll, clad from head to toe in his fiery cloak astride his equally sanguine mount plunged headlong into them. Soldiers dove to the side, ducked, rolled, and did whatever they could to avoid the lithe vessel of terror as Enoki wheeled and spurred Zynn in mad zigzags through the crowd. Zynn chattered and snapped playfully at retreating limbs as he effortlessly bobbed and wove through every rank and file in Enoki's live game of soldier dominos while he laughed hysterically and made certain to knock every row out of place. It took only a matter of moments to disperse a trained regiment of hearty Horde forces into chaos and angry growling fury, and Enoki glanced over his shoulder with a satisfied smirk as he steered Zynn toward the tower of the central command building.

"JYOTA! Oy! JYOTA! Heeeeeey! Jyota!" he yelled as he approached.

The Hunter was nowhere to be seen through the windows of the main chamber. Enoki and Zynn rounded the building searching, calling out, and slipping deftly away from the guards slowly beginning to approach him for disturbing the peace.

Inside, on the second floor in a private, quiet chamber, Jyota was dressed in the simple raiment of an apprentice Shadow Hunter, and was down on one knee with his head bowed before the beloved leader of the Darkspear tribe. Vol'jin himself stood before him; fierce, silently commanding, wise and calm. His fierce rush'kah mask rested over his face, his powerful, battle scarred body was wreathed in the dark armor of a servant of the Loa, and in his hand he held steadfastly to his shadow glaive which he rested on the floor before the humble Troll he was to initiate into his order.

"De spirits speak highly of you, Jyota," he said in his deep, omniscient timbre.

Jyota smiled and bowed his head.

"I live tah serve dem, Mastah Vol'jin. I have been readeh tah give mah life tah dem, an' tah you evah since I can remembah. I be readeh fah dis," he assured him confidently.

"You be readeh tah walk de line between light and dark, of life an' death, of de spirits an' de material world? Is yah soul prepared tah be molded an' tempahed tah de likin' an' de whims'a de Loa?" Vol'jin continued, his voice and proclamations ringing through the small chamber.

Jyota's blood raced in his veins. His limbs tingled with the power radiating from the leader of his people and favorite of their Gods. His mind exploded into a kaleidoscope of glorious visions of fighting beside him, speaking with his beloved Gods and wielding their boon with firm justice. Everything had finally come to fruition, his destiny stood before him, all he had to do was agree.

"Yes. I be readeh."

"Den swear unto me, before ol' Vol'jin, de spirits, de Loa, an' de Horde. Give me yah fealty and yah blood oath!" Vol'jin boomed proudly.

"Mastah Vol'jin, as a son of de Darkspear tribe, an' willin' loyal servant of all de Loa in deir greatness, it is wit great honah dat I-"

"JYOTA!"

The violet-haired Troll's eyes snapped open, his lips pressed into a thin, horrified line. The sickeningly familiar voice turned his blood to ice and steeled his tongue. Vol'jin's brows rose behind his mask and he leaned forward curiously, but said nothing.

"Uh… I-I…" Jyota spluttered.

He hazarded a glance over his shoulder out the window, but saw nothing, and shook his head to clear it and begin again.

"I, Jyota, son of de Darkspear tribe, willin' loyal servant of all de-"

"Oooooy! Jyota! Jyoooota! JYOTA!"

The voice sounded insistently once more, and Jyota's violet hair stood on end.

"I… JYOTA. Son of de-"

"JyotaJyotaJyotaJyotaJyota! Jyotaaaaaaaaaa!"

Jyota remained on the floor, grinding his teeth, eyes wide and staring at nothing, beads of sweat collecting on his forehead and quivering with restrained rage. Outside the voice seemed to drift away, followed by angry shouting, but after a brief moment it returned, louder than ever. It was Vol'jin who finally cracked a secret, amused smirk behind his mask and cleared his throat gently.

"I think yah bettah attend tah dat, mon. It don' sound like it goin' away," he said.

Terrified golden eyes looked back up at him, and he gestured with his head toward the window. Jyota got up shakily, and made his way on stiff, mechanical legs to the sill where he rested his hands and peered out. Just as he expected, Enoki was beneath the tower. He sat astride Zynn, dressed in what was clearly a traveling set of clothes, and laughed as he dodged infuriated guards and screeched his name.

"JYOTA!"

"WHAT?!" the harried Troll bellowed down, then clapped a hand over his mouth, "I-I mean, Enoki whatcha DOIN'?"

Enoki finally stopped and looked up toward the tower and grinned from ear to ear as he faced his former lover one last time.

"Oh dere yah are! Heh, well I jes' wanted tah drop by an' say goodbye!" he called.

A shadow moved fluidly behind Jyota and Enoki didn't have to guess twice to know whom it was. His former lover, however, actually looked aghast at the news.

"G-Goodbye?" he spluttered.

"Yup! Goodbye, smell yah latah, not lettin' de door hit mah ass on de way out an' all dat good stuff. I be clearin' outta here mahself!" Enoki replied, his hands on his hips and his nose loftily in the air.

A pained look somewhere between anguish and betrayal washed over Jyota's face.

"Leavin'…? You?" he murmured, before reason reigned supreme in his mind again and anger replaced the hurt, "An' why de hell are yah doin' dis NOW?"

"Well, I couldn' very well leave witout sayin' goodbye! An' as yah can see I kinda in a hurreh. So!" Enoki began, lowering his eyes wickedly with a wolfish grin and cupping a hand beside his mouth to amplify , "See yah latah Jyota! Sorreh I sucked at bein' a soldier fah you! I bet you'll be WAY bettah at bein' a Shadow Huntah den a Captain!"

Enoki watched the color leave Jyota's face and his jaw drop nearly to the ground beneath the window. Beside him, Vol'jin, clearly amused, slid his mask up and onto his wild mane of flame orange hair to watch.

"Oh, an' I'll be takin' Zynn, thanks very much fah him, an' probably a little bit more den half yah cash but, I took a little EXTRA fah pain an' suffahin'! You undahstand!" Enoki continued, his palms upturned and a cocky smirk slathered over his gleeful face, "So I think everythin' be in ordah. Thanks fah signin' me up, tossin' me out intah de shittiest place in de world, an' runnin' me ragged fah a year! It was fun! Oh… An' one last thing... Thanks fah all de ultra hot barracks sex too! Still think I woulda wowed yah on top, but! Your loss eh? Ah! An' I promise, swear on mah life not tah steal dat extra sexy thing yah liked tah do, you know what I mean."

Enoki clicked his tongue suggestively and pointed a finger up toward Jyota with a wink. Jyota, meanwhile, was visibly trembling, white as a sheet, glistening with sweat and gripping the windowsill so hard his nails splintered the wood. The things coming out of Enoki's mouth were incomprehensible. They were so brash, so arrogant, so perfectly delivered he refused to believe he was really even hearing them; that of all people, Vol'jin was hearing them. Yet it was so clear in those beautiful, mischievous and beguiling green eyes. He knew exactly what he was doing and who was hearing it.

Enoki was wildfire. He had lit his life with his untamed fury, but in the end he could not be contained.

"I-I… I wh- You-! I-! I would NEVAH-! You be-! I can't-! Dis jes'-! AUGH ENOKI!" Jyota stammered, tangling his hands in his Mohawk.

Enoki only laughed.

"See yah around, Jyota! Mebbe our paths will cross again! 'Till den!" he called.

The redhead raised one hand in a crooked, mock salute, and then returned it to the reins of his raptor, which he snapped commandingly.

"Let's go, Zynn!"

Zynn threw his head back and gave a mighty roar of newfound freedom. He ducked it low as he turned to run in the direction his master commanded him, and effortlessly swiped two guards off their feet with his thick tail, leaving them quite literally in his dust. They sat up and watched Enoki go, blinking, and glanced at each other with a private and knowing smirk. Enoki would never return to the small outpost in the Barrens, they knew, but his legacy and memory would certainly stay with those would remember.

Slowly, the rest of the soldiers began to regroup and turn their eyes back up to the proceedings that had been so spectacularly interrupted. Jyota managed to find his wits at last with the eyes of his entire batallion turned to him, and whirled around against the window frame frantically.

"Mastah Vol'jin, I am SO sorreh fah him! I-I assure you, I-I ain'-! Well, what I mean tah say is I won'-! Uh! Oh Loa, how can I even make up fah-" Jyota rambled, his paleness quickly replaced with a flush of humiliation.

Vol'jin slid his Rush'kah mask back down over his still smiling face and walked slowly back to his former position. He turned, picked up his Fel Glaive, and tapped it lightly once on the ground.

"Calm yahself, Jyota. Don' concern yahself wit such petty little things," he answered, "And uh, jes'… Keep it to yahself. Don' mattah none tah me what yah do in de bedroom. Though yah might wanna choose yah lovahs more carefully next time."

Whether or not he really saw the leader of his Tribe wink at him underneath his fierce tribal mask would forever remain a question in the back of Jyota's mind, but he would swear he did as he dropped to one knee subserviently once more.

"Y-Yes, sir…"

"Good," Vol'jin crooned approvingly without missing a beat, "Now, where were we?"

The noonday sun wheeled high above the Barrens and shone brightly down on the humble little Horde encampment as a speeding conflagration of red left it. Enoki rode hard out into the baked flaxen fields, crouched low over Zynn's spiny neck and urging him to run as fast as he dared. The lands that had been his prison for so long blurred into nothingness around him, melted away and left only him, the feel of the hot wind on his face and through his hair, and Zynn's powerful body beneath him. No longer did he question fate, for he had seen his, and he ran headlong into it at last. All he had ever wanted to do was see everything there was to see, go everywhere, meet everyone, do everything, but he had never simply embraced it.

The winds raced to meet him and lifted his cloak around him in welcome to their brother. They whispered in his ear and floated exotic scents to his nose and coyly promised something magnificent over the horizon. They had always promised him that. Enoki followed at last, not knowing where he was going, and relishing it. He cared naught for where he ended up, for what he would do when he got there, or how he would even survive in a world he knew so little about. The journey, that seductive caress of wanderlust against his brazen heart, was what he euphorically succumbed to after so many years of not knowing what it was. He flung himself up from the saddle and spread his arms wide to welcome the vast expanse of Azeroth yawning out into infinity before him, cape flaring in the wind and catching the sun.

Enoki and Zynn would ride until their bodies could run no longer, and then they would do it all over again. Day after day, night after night until they had seen everything, or until their lives were snuffed out. They needed no map, no guide, no provisions, for they entered the world with fearless hearts, dauntless spirits and a ravenous hunger for all things. Enoki had begun many journeys in his short life, but at last he set foot on the grandest one. As he had learned, and so practiced, all journeys began with a single step, but his, on that day, he began racing the wind and letting the blaze of his spirit burn.

10


End file.
